


Sara of Cybertron

by Rangerfan58



Series: Cybertronian foster child [5]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 08:54:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 44
Words: 77,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11482947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rangerfan58/pseuds/Rangerfan58





	1. Chapter 1

The person was weak, weaker than they had ever felt before even while being captive for however long it had been though they knew it had to have been at least over a year by that point, they thought back to at least ten years back when for several years they thought that all hope was lost

_At least ten years earlier_

"So any ideas for food this time kid?"

"See that snake?"

"What of it?"

"That's a Black Racer, that equals food"

"How does a five year old know all of this anyways?"

"Who raised me until five months ago when I lost my entire family?"

"Oops forgot you were an EDC" (Earth Defense Command) "kid raised by the Cybertronians, still hard to believe that for five months you had the rank of Lt. and outranked everyone but the President, and you had the training too"

"Not my fault I was born with powers that activated at the age of four"

"We know, it's just still hard to believe that after a full year of training in both your powers and the military the President decided to give you the rank of Lt."

"Yeah well if not for that rank many of the lower ranking officers and enlisted would be dead by now, as it is since I gave them the order to retreat and try to go underground we have no clue just how many are alive"

"What about the fact that they all have SERE" (Survive, Evade, Resistance, Escape) "training? I thought that would help keep them out of trouble"

"Only if they managed to join the fast forming resistance groups or made one themselves in the early days and according to reports even those are dwindling pretty fast"

"Guess you're right, hope we can free earth fast"

"We will, with time and effort we will, I just don't know how fast that will be or if it will even be fast enough"

"Well I guess all we can do is try"

For seven years they fought to free Earth, more specifically at first America but they soon realized the whole world needed freed so they set their mind to do that as well. Plus thanks to underground schooling everyone was pretty much where they should have been if things hadn't been so interrupted, though classes were often interrupted and students kept missing classes. But thanks to the system set up where some students will have classes on certain days and the other students the other days everyone managed to always get either the lesson or at least the homework which meant they were all at the proper grade level. A year before earth was free the EDC revealed themselves and the Cybertronians to be alive as well, they had gone even deeper underground then everyone else but had been the ones leaving things behind for one very special person to learn from

_Present time_

"That was a wonderful day finding out my family was alive, too bad the peace only lasted three years stupid Quintessons teaming up with a new enemy. If only we had thought of that my unit would be alive and I wouldn't be prisoner"

_Unknown amount of time_

In Iran things were so desperate that they called in the EDC who in turn decided it would be best for the American military to start out with so that if they were ordinary terrorists they wouldn't be overwhelmed too fast. Ultimately though the EDC did have to get involved and even more Sara was called in by the President to serve in a Marine unit

"So think you can handle this kid?"

"Seeing as how I was part of a resistance three years ago yeah I think I can handle this, everyone old enough to remember that time period could, though no one but me due to special circumstances is allowed to join before seventeen with parental permission and eighteen without"

"Well we've got patrol so let's go"

The patrol was attacked three weeks later and initially everyone was taken prisoner and they all followed the code of conduct set before them when they first joined the military and took basic SERE training, sadly though they lost superior officers one by one until only Sara was their prisoner. She gave them lots of trouble for it though and they weren't very appreciative of it seeing as how they brought in their secret allies, allies that could drain Sara of her special powers and send in a perfect double due to their ability to copy memories perfectly, also a persons personality was copied as well and then the copy was sent back to the unsuspecting military

_Present time_

"I've got to escape, but I'm so weak, they're constantly draining me of my powers, soon I'll either lose my powers or be killed, but maybe just maybe I still have enough power to use on myself to be able to escape though it's dangerous as I've never tried such a thing before"

She looked deep within herself and then made herself phase through the chains that held her back once she was out of her bonds she made herself tangible again and also very, very weak but she knew what she had to do at that moment and that was too escape. And escape she did, for five days she walked through the desert just trying to get to a safe location because it didn't have to be an American base, she could walk into a Canadian or United Kingdom base and be safe while she recovered enough to go back to the American base. What she didn't know during that five day period was that events were coming together that were making people wonder if she was a traitor or not and then a few days later wonder if she was even alive or not and they wouldn't have answers for twelve whole days. Five days after she escaped she made it to a Canadian base who took her in to treat her, waiting for her to wake up so they could figure out who she was seeing as how she no longer had her tags on her


	2. Chapter 2

"So any clue who they are?"

"No sir and we won't find out until they wake up which might take a while considering the injuries I'm seeing here"

"I was hoping I could find out after all considering the way she showed up..."

"Yeah I know sir"

_Several hours earlier_

"Hey do you see that?"

"Yeah I do, halt or I will shoot!"

The person only gets close enough to let them see that they are unarmed and they actually  _looked_  like they had been through an ordeal, right before the person passed out they only said one word and they barely heard that

"Help"

The two guards quickly called for medical assistance and they medics were frantic to get her stabilized which took over two hours because of heat exhaustion and other wounds, they didn't need transport and since the person had no dog tags there was no means to identify them. It was decided that they would keep the stranger in the medical wing under guard until they either found out who they were or it was decided that they would just take them back to Canada and put under the care of the prison system there

_Present_

"I also need more men because of the situation still going on at the nearby American base"

"The missing soldier"

"Yeah, five days ago they told me to immediately arrest anyone claiming to be Kerenai seeing as how Kerenai was now in the brig for being a traitor and then three days ago I found out that it was an imposter who died in the brig awaiting trial. Now we have this stranger and we don't have any answers as to what's going on"

"Yeah I remember you being one of the soldiers here originally three years ago when the word got out that Kerenai's unit had vanished. And then two months later Kerenai showed up weak, tired and wounded but alive and relatively okay"

"And now I find out that who we thought was Kerenai wasn't"

"Well I need my guards so you can't have them, um did America say what to do now if someone claims to be Kerenai?"

(Sighs) "same as before, lock them in the brig until someone from base can confirm it's actually her, the only exception of course is this situation where they need medical care, but even then an armed guard is to be with them at all times"

"Well let's hope they wake up soon and can give us some answers"

Seven days later Sara woke up in the middle of the night and saw that there were armed guards who noticed her waking up. The doctor showed up minutes later

"I know you must be confused right now but I must ask, what's your name?"

"Sara Kerenai, I escaped from being a POW" (Prisoner of War) "just recently how long have I been out?"

(Sighs) "I hate to tell you but your identity is under question until an American soldier can confirm it's you, in the meantime it won't hurt you to know that you've been unconscious for seven days"

" _Seven days_? I'm having a hard time believing it, I walked away from that place for five after having endured a very hard time period recently"

"Well we'll be calling the American base and hopefully they'll be able to send someone over who can confirm or deny who you are soon, in the meantime these guards have orders to stay here with you while we work things out"

"I understand"

Sara quickly realizes that her ordeal was still exhausting her so she went back to sleep while the American base was called. At the base

"I see so they're claiming to be Sara Kerenai okay I'll be coming over personally tomorrow then see you when I get there and make sure the person stays under guard at all times no matter how tired they seem to be"

The base commander then thinks back to the events twelve days ago that started the whole thing

_Twelve days earlier_

Things had been pretty normal when suddenly a commotion was started, the commander ran out from behind his desk and joined in the situation finding out that several officers were trying to keep Kerenai from sabotaging the radio that kept their operations functional

"Lt. Kerenai what in the world are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Getting knocked out and then put on trail for being a traitor once we can get JAG" (Judge Advocate General) "out here though that might take a few days"

They put the unknown impostor in the brig and wait for JAG to come, two days later the impostor died and was identified as an impostor making them wonder all over again if Kerenai was dead or alive and if she was alive just where she was

_Present day_

"I hope this trip will finally give us the answers we seek, but if not we'll never stop searching for you Sara no matter what, I promise little sister I promise"

If anyone heard that comment no one thought anything of it because all EDC kids thought themselves as family because they knew that Sara was an only child, or so they thought, because the base commander was not Andrew Peterson like everyone thought but was in reality Mark Kerenai, thought killed three years before Sara was born. By the time Mark regained his memories though the war for freedom had already begun and once things got back to normal and he informed the military of his connection to Sara they decided that until she turned eighteen it wouldn't matter if she served under him because she wouldn't be informed of the connection until that time. It was decided because she had always been told her brother died before she was born and she kept that to herself that for her own safety she had to wait until she was a legal adult to find out about her big brother, it was also that way in case either one of them died before that time period, though Mark would have been informed of his sisters death if that was the case. The military also decided that it was best that Mark still be thought dead until Sara turned eighteen and was told the truth herself first for that reason as well. The next day Mark as Andrew went to the Canadian base and was let in relatively easily and then escorted to the infirmary

"The patient is still asleep as far as I know but who knows they might have woken up by now, but they are on some pretty heavy drugs still and they have sedative like effects, though I took her off of them early this morning so maybe she's more coherent right now"

They walk in to see Sara eating breakfast

"Sara, this soldier is going to confirm if you're who you say you are"

"Fine I'll say the stupid code"

"No, you will not, instead I've decided to use a different way of testing to see if you're who you say you are?"

"Oh really and just  _how_  are you going to do that? The impostor was pretty convincing after all"

"Simple because all recruits whether they like it or not got through at least basic SERE training, but Sara whom you are claiming to be went through advanced training after earth was freed"

"Yeah but they made the perfect copy to fool America as long as they did"

"Not quite perfect, they actually made one mistake that was so slight it wouldn't have shown up except in an autopsy"

"And just what is that?"

"A unique chemical that only shows up once Sara is either dead or near dead"

"And we drew blood, since we knew you guys might want to test it we froze some blood that we took to preserve it until you could get here, and soon after we drew the blood she coded on us once because of her bodies weak condition so we drew blood again to see what might have happened but didn't know about the test, we froze some of that blood too"

"Excellent, the test will only take a few minutes and is also portable"

"How few is a few?"

"Five minutes"

_Five minutes later_

The machine beeps signifying it was ready to reveal the test results

"So what's the verdict?"

"It's her, you're alive after three years of the impostor taking your place"

"Three years, I've been a captive for three years?"

"I'm afraid so and in that time period the impostor has taken your place, why it wasn't discovered sooner I have no clue but it doesn't matter now, and if you're wondering about the test it was developed shortly before this whole mess started, when you drowned in the ocean one time and it took the efforts of the hospital to bring you back"

"I remember that I was doing my best to get some people out of a rip tide and I was swept out further to sea, the lifeguards almost called in to get me back to shore. I remember a lot of that day until my strength finally gave out and I went under after that the rest of the time was a blur in the hospital"

"Forty-five minutes, that's how long it took to revive you and the only reason why they kept going for so long was that every so often you showed signs of fighting back to stay alive"

"And when my blood work came back that's when the chemical was discovered"

"Exactly your family then used that to develop a test to either prove or deny your identity should anything ever happen to you like what did three years ago"

"Thank goodness they did then, and yes I did follow the code of conduct set forth for the POW's it's just that I never really got a chance until twelve days ago to escape"

"How did you escape anyways?"

"Made myself intangible and phased out of the chains, once I was tangible again I had to be very, very sneaky to get out of there and then I simply ran for a bit until I could run no further. After I stopped running for the rest of my journey here I walked as much as I could taking very short cat naps just in case I had any captors pursuing me"

"But why now? I mean couldn't you have done that three years ago?"

"No because I didn't know three years ago I could make objects intangible and all of my unit only had the clothes on our backs once they were through with us and there was no opportunity to pick the locks or we would have. One by one every senior officer was taken away until I was the only one left, they were extremely annoyed that all we gave was rank, name, serial number and date of birth whenever we were questioned, though per the senior officers orders we also imputed random history facts that we knew every so often so as to try and get them mad enough to slip up and give us the chance to escape at the first opportunity given to us even if it meant going alone. That was his order actually he told us to remember the code of conduct set before us my the United States military and to escape as soon as we could even if it was only one of us doing so. As the months and years passed on we kept the original order and added others until I was the only one left, they killed the rest pretty fast but left me alive all these years probably because of my powers. They never let us off the chains except to escort us to the interrogation room and believe me all of us tried escaping while being escorted more than once, all of us heard it" (sighs) "sadly all attempts failed and it only got us more escorts with weapons, they tried to break us many, many times but none of us broke. I was so proud of them, due to my situation I got the most advanced SERE training available but they only got the basics yet they did America so proud while a POW if they were here telling their story you would be proud of them as well. The one thing that kept me sane and alive was the thought of getting out of there and getting back home to take down the impostor. Once that was done I would go home to recuperate and once that was done go back serving my country as a Marine unless otherwise called for duty in another branch"

"And now?"

(Sighs) "depending on how severe my injuries are I may not be able to serve our country anymore, the doctor never told me the full results of the tests only that I was lucky to be alive considering how injured and dehydrated I was"

"You know, you could serve in other ways, haven't you been making and testing weapons since you were seven?"

"Yeah I have because the former weapons maker and tester was not only getting old but because of how frequent the battles were he never knew when he would die so being who I was he made me his apprentice. Oh he didn't know who raised me but he could tell I was smart and able to pick things up quickly thus my apprenticeship"

"How long did it take you to learn how to do what was necessary?"

"A year and a half and that was because of how frequent the fighting was, he said that in a normal situation I would be considered a master by six months to a year if not for the blasted war"

"War no that was a fight for survival"

"Okay either way I learned and have used that time to be able to make weapons but to only make weapons really doesn't suit me I think, due to who raised me I was meant for action"

"But at least you would still be able to keep other soldiers safe" (sighs) "look let's not make any final decisions until the medic back at base camp tells us what the results are, now then I brought a spare uniform with me just in case and if the doctor allows we'll be taking you home today and when I say home I mean the base"

"That would be great, so move along while I change and then we'll deal with everything else"

Two minutes later Sara was changed and they were talking about a few more things when suddenly sirens went off in the camp

"Uh that doesn't sound good"

"It's not, we're under attack you two need to get out of the camp and get back to your base, once there you'll be safe. I can leave you with some weapons in case you run into trouble but you must leave through the back route, don't worry I can help you reach there but you  _cannot_  stay here or you'll be prisoners and I highly doubt Sara can take any more torture right now, not when she's so recently been freed"

"Okay we'll follow you doc but once we get back to base we're coming back to support you"

"Oh no I know we're in alliance but that is not happening, America is too important for such an alliance and that's final"

"Fine but if we get orders to back up Canadian forces we're doing so"

"Fine orders are orders now come on, oh and here are two K-139 series rifles, the newest rifles available to foreign forces"

As soon as Sara was given the rifle she prepped it for battle deftly almost like she had been born with it while her unknown brother prepped it slightly slower but still faster than if he had never been given a K-series rifle

"By the way Sara once we get back to base we  _really_  need to have a talk about something"

"Sure but only after I get fully checked out by a medic, hate to say it but I'm only running because I have to my body is still extremely sore"

Just then they found themselves surrounded, of course they used up all of their ammo and the Canadian soldier was noticing he wasn't injured at all and there was a reason for that as Kerenai soon proved


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay creeps I've had just about enough of you guys, you're going down and you're going down  _hard_ "

She closes her eyes for a brief moment and then with chains coming out of her hands she grabs them and lashes out in an attack

"Arranyan chains!"

She flung the chains around and did severe damage to the enemies of course they managed to break her chains but they wouldn't break her will she simply went down to one knee and then slammed her hand down for another attack

"Arranyan earthquake!"

Finally the two Americans and one Canadian made it to the secret exit and the two Americans commandeered an enemy tank and with the help of Kerenai managed to get in contact with base before they were attacked

"Hold fire repeat hold fire Lt. Kerenai and I are in the tank, we just got back from the Canadian base which is now under attack"

"Wait you proved it's her?"

"Yes it's Kerenai, oh and make sure no one disturbs us once we get to my office"

Finally they get to the office and are given privacy

"Sara there's somethings you need to know. First of all I'm an EDC kid like you are though I was never taken away from my family at a young age and forced to fight for my countries freedom while still going to school. Second of all you were always told that your older brother was killed on a mission, that's a lie, Sara I'm your brother Mark"

"But how are you alive?"

"I had amnesia, by the time I remembered who I was the war for freedom was undergoing. Seven years later I informed the military of our connection but it was decided to keep the truth from you until you turned eighteen in case anything happened to either one of us before that day happened, even if it meant you serving under me"

"What happened the day I turned eighteen? I turned eighteen exactly two months ago was the impostor told the truth instead?"

"No because your impostor was serving under me when we found out the truth about nine days ago. Your impostor did something thirteen days ago and then three days later the impostor simply died"

"And through autopsy you finally figured out it was an impostor who could somehow use my powers"

"Yes, oh by the way there's something else you should know"

"What?"

*I also know how to speak Cybertronian *

*How I thought that through books while they remained hidden they taught only me because I was their responsibility *

*I actually managed to stay with them for a time and told them who I was and just like you I'm a fast learner so for the three years I was with them I managed to learn their language *

*It took me five because I couldn't learn through hearing and speaking on a regular basis *

*But that's the only reason you were slowed down and hey you became a master weapon maker in a year and a half but that's because of the training and practice you got, now then let's stop speaking in Cybertronian, if I'm right you're going to be sent home to recover don't worry I'll call the family and let them know you're alive while you're on the plane *

*Before we switch back to English I have a question, what am I supposed to do about my GED? * (General Education Diploma)

*Apparently you have to take it once you get home and will be placed accordingly after you're graded *

The next few days were spent in relative peace, no further word was heard from the Canadian base and there was nothing they could do, Sara in the meantime was stuck in the infirmary fighting an infection that had developed while in the hospital but wasn't discovered until she got back to the American base because it was a slow acting infection. While that battle was going on Mark did indeed call the Cybertronians about Sara being alive and explained the whole story about the impostor which gave them a huge relief to find out that Sara wasn't really a traitor, but when they found out she was fighting an infection that brought about a new worry. Mark also with the government's permission revealed his true identity and why he had hidden it for so long, once that was revealed it wasn't a surprise that Mark spent as much time as he could in sick bay near his baby sister

"How is she doing sir?"

(Sighs) "I think she's getting better but anytime we try to move her without every single item she's connected to her vitals tank so she might not be doing as good as I think, or maybe it should be as good as I hoped she would be"

"She's your sister sir, your flesh and blood of course you'd be worried about her"

"Then why does she seem to be getting better while on the machines yet any time we move even one machine she starts dying on us?"

"I don't know sir you'll have to ask the medic but I came to tell you the medic has given me orders to get you to get some rest and real food or he'll sedate you for you to get any real sleep"

(Sighs) "I've been here and awake that long again?"

"Yes sir you have, it's a bad habit you have in regards to your soldiers though you at least try and get  _some_  sleep but with your sister you've become ten times worse"

"OK tell me the truth just how bad do I get when a soldier under my command gets hurt?"

"You hardly leave their side unless you have to or need to stretch your legs"

"You've never seen me when a man is critical and can't be transferred have you?"

"No sir I haven't until now"

"Well I'm just as bad as I am with my sister"

"Maybe but with her you haven't even left her side to stretch your legs sir and the doctor is getting concerned about how long you've been sitting in one position"

"Thus the orders about me either getting rest or being sedated"

"Exactly sir"

"Then tell him he'll have to sedate me because I'm not leaving her side except by force"

(Sighs) "I thought you'd say that and told the medic, you know that nice cup of tea you've been drinking the past few minutes?"

The base commander finally notices he's been drugged by a sedative and that he had actually been fighting the effects until it was actually mentioned

"I...hate...you"

The base commander fell asleep right then and there and had to be put in a bed across the room from Sara so that he could get sleep and if he wanted to see her he would have to walk across the room and the doctor would be able to hear that and get onto him until he got a decent amount of sleep (Kerenai's were for some reason naturally resistant to drugs and in Sara's case it was worse because of her powers only if they willed the drugs to work did they actually work properly)

"Is he finally asleep?"

"Yes the drug finally took affect stupid Kerenai resistance to sedatives"

"Hey even now we're trying to figure that one out with the only two Kerenai's left and don't forget Lt. Kerenai's powers make her that more resistant to drugs"

"Yeah but any children they have through marriage will also be resistant and I would rather not experiment with the kids blood because who knows what would happen then, even half Kerenai's have some form of resistance"

"Okay let's simply say it will remain a mystery unless the family chooses otherwise"

"Yeah, how bad is Lt. Kerenai in reality?"

(Sighs) "I hate to tell anyone this but if not for the machines she'd be dead by now, the infection has stopped progressing but it's not regressing either, basically we're at a standstill with this infection and are just barely holding back from doing any more damage"

"Has the commander been told that about his sister?"

"We tried once but it turned out to be pointless because he's so exhausted he won't and can't listen and understand a word I'm saying"

"Okay that makes sense now what I don't get is why the Canadians didn't start infection procedures as soon as she was put in their care, even if they didn't know who she was at the time they should have been giving her antibiotics just in case of infection"

"They couldn't, without an identity they didn't have any medical history and no medical history means they don't know what if anything she's allergic to and it's a good thing they didn't too"

"Why's that doctor?"

"She's allergic to what's left of their antibiotics until they can get in a fresh supply"

"Say what now?"

"She's allergic to anything that ends in cillin, any form of nuts and bluebottles which are unfortunately found pretty much all over the world so long as it's the warmer months and seasons except for the very high north"

"Okay the antibiotic and food allergy I get, I've seen others with such allergies but the bluebottles which are also known as Portuguese man-of-wars how'd she find that out?"

"Happened during a short summer break, right after things were finally back in order around America"


	4. Chapter 4

_About six years earlier_

"So how have you liked Australia so far?"

"Great and yes I've been following the safety guidelines given to us by the life savers, I'm going to go in for a swim"

Sara goes into the water and fifteen minutes later she comes out and grabs her bag that had her epi-pen that she never left home without, her facial expression stated she was in pain but nothing else was wrong for the moment the bag was just a precaution. She was actually getting treated when she noticed her breathing changing rapidly and the medics started more aggressive treatment, or at least as aggressive as they could get with the training they had. She quickly realized she was going into anaphylactic shock and needed immediate treatment in order to survive

"We need an Ambulance at our location"

While the lifesavers were getting an ambulance and giving her a higher flow of oxygen Sara started grabbing for her bag

"What do you think you're doing young lady?"

"Bag...I need...it"

"What for ma'am?"

"Just...get me...the bag"

They hand her the bag and she goes to one of the compartments and unzips it, she grabs something from the bag and then stabs herself moments later

"What is that you have on you?"

"Tell...you in...a minute one, and two, and three, and four, and five, and six, and seven, and eight, and nine, and ten. OK epinephrine is in but I still need more drugs if I don't want to get any worse or go into full anaphylactic shock, how soon will the ambulance get here?"

After she said that they started noticing that her breathing was actually getting better and they also knew that epinephrine only bought her extra time for the ambulance to arrive to take her to the hospital, where she would receive more medications to help with the allergic reaction

"Two minutes at the most, good thing you remember to always have that pen with you or you'd be in some major trouble"

"You're telling me, it's also a good thing I know and can recognize my own symptoms that tell me I'm having an attack because they can be very subtle or very obvious and trust me I was doing subtle until I started having real trouble breathing, though it changed from subtle to obvious very quickly"

The paramedics arrive and the lifesavers quickly give them an update

"She has given herself an injection of epinephrine, it was prescribed so that she could take it if she ever has an attack which she has, she took it two minutes ago and seems to be doing better but she still needs to go to the hospital"

"Okay we'll tell the hospital that she's already taken epinephrine so that they know what to give her and what not to give her"

She was taken to the hospital and told to take it easy for the rest of the day, she was also told it was a good thing that she obeyed doctors orders and always carried an epi-pen on her because of the fact that she had been going down so fast and suddenly it was basically what saved her life

"So I can assume that you have people who don't obey such orders?"

"You got it"

The rest of the time in Australia was spent off the beach but hey she still enjoyed it

_Present time_

"And that's basically the story of how she found out she was allergic to Portuguese man-of-wars"

"When will you tell her brother the truth about how good she's really doing?"

"When I give up hope of her actually getting better which I'm not doing yet"

"So  _that's_  why you've sedated the commander and are telling him things will get better because you yourself believe she'll get better"

"Exactly and I just had an idea that I should have thought of earlier"

"Oh what is it?"

"A new type of antibiotic that's still in the testing phases in America, it hasn't quite been approved by the FDA" (Food and Drug Administration) "but I think I can make a good case argument for me to get my hands on some as part of the testing process"

Three hours later the doctor hung up the phone and gave out a sigh of exhaustion, he had succeeded in getting the test antibiotic for the Lt. but he had been forced to make a  _lot_  of promises and assurances plus just arguing could be mentally exhausting depending on how long you had to argue and it was over the phone as well

"So how did the phone call go?"

"I succeeded but it wasn't easy the antibiotic should be coming within the next twelve to twenty-four hours depending on when and who does the shipping"

Twelve hours later the doctor had the new antibiotic in his hands and with the commander watching put it in his sisters system

"We'll see how she responds with this in twelve hours hopefully it will be enough to stabilize her to get her back home to America or if not America a more advanced hospital in Germany"

"Germany, it's closer and we still don't know just how bad off the infection is oh and doctor while I understand you drugging me don't do it again for the next few days it won't work period"

"Yeah about that I need to ask how Kerenai's are resistant to sedatives depending on how much blood is in them, you know full Kerenai, half Kerenai that kind of thing"

"To be honest we don't really know, I've been looking into the family history and I haven't found anything that could explain our resistance and my sister's resistance is greater because of her powers"

"So basically your resistance to sedatives will forever remain a mystery"

"Yeah though actually, under doctor patient confidentiality I have to tell you that unless we allow it or our body recognizes it's need we are resistant to all drugs given to us, it's just more noticeable in sedatives because that's what military doctor's use the most on us even if we don't want them. Trust me I've been very glad for that kind of resistance more than once due to being taken by the enemy and them wanting to use drugs on me to make me talk or turn on my government"

"Well like I said we'll see in twelve hours if the drug is effective enough or not in the meantime how about you get some food and paperwork done in your office, and I also recommend you actually getting in some exercise as well your body is bound to be stiff by now considering how long you've been by your sister's side"

"I could go for a run I guess and I do have paperwork that I'm sure hasn't reached me because I've been in the infirmary the entire time so yeah guess I should get to my office and get some things sorted out before I come back here"

Twelve hours later they got their answer when they decided to test how her body responded of a few less vital machines and her body took to the change well enough that they decided it would be safe to transfer her to Germany for further care


	5. Chapter 5

"Looks like she can go to Germany sir, good thing too because I was starting to wonder if I would have her until she suddenly got completely better or her body just decided to stop fighting"

"What are you not telling me doctor?"

"Uh I shouldn't have said that because I wasn't going to give up until I had no other option but...she wasn't doing as well as I've been saying sir in fact she was barely stable"

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

"You were already so worried about her I was scared of what the truth would do to your health"

(Sighs) "I understand doctor but I still wish you felt you could give me the truth about my sister"

"I know sir but seeing how you are with normal soldiers under your command EDC kid or not when I tell you the truth, add in how you've been with your flesh and blood and I have been having some serious concerns about your health"

"I guess you're right though you haven't noticed and neither did the other doctor but I pay just a little more attention to EDC kids, make sure they get the good food if their stomachs can take it. I've also snuck in my phone to let them call family if they're capable and if not I've called the EDC to make the call to the families myself"

"And if you yourself can't call the families?"

"I have the EDC tell them so that they know how their loved one is"

"I never knew you were partial to EDC kids are you sure about having them under your command?"

"Oh I'm not partial when it comes to training but when it comes to them being injured and in need that's when I do tend to be a bit partial"

"But you don't neglect anyone else in need either, I've noticed that about you if you have men injured you visit them whenever you can"

"When can she be moved to Germany?"

"In three hours she's out on the next COD" (Carrier on-board Delivery)

"Thanks for telling me that, I will not be there when she leaves I've decided I've ignored the paperwork for too long, and to be honest I  _really_  need to go out on patrol at least once because I'm tired and just really need that space and seeing what my men see"

"Fine but you're not going to that office until you get something to eat doctor's order's and your assistant has orders to make sure you actually eat and if you don't she's to force you to eat anything she grabs for you"

Several hours later Sara was on a plane to Germany while the base commander was out on patrol for the first time in weeks. When he got back Mark asked about how Sara had been during the transfer and then simply went back to work. Meanwhile in Germany

*How long will she be sedated doctor?*

*For at least three more days, the prototype antibiotic that they gave her helped significantly in dealing with the infection but now we have another antibiotic to try and this one is painful for whatever reason, it's better that she's asleep for the worst of it *

*Understood doctor what about family?*

*Well apparently her biological brother who was thought dead until recently is the base commander where she was being taken care of so he can't come. However there should be some EDC officers on the way seeing as how she was raised by an EDC family and is what they call an EDC kid*

*That's good, at least even if she doesn't see any familiar faces she'll see familiar uniforms and be relaxed enough for us to be able to communicate with her and help her in her healing*

*Agreed, now then is there anything else I need to know about this patient and her medical history?*

*The only other note states that she's to have guards on her at all times due to the possibility of being captured again, only by a different terrorist cell instead. It seems from what little they gathered from her before the infection set in that's who had her the first time while she was serving her country, a terrorist cell*

*Okay until some EDC officers or American soldiers get here we'll use our security guards to protect her and that means no one gets in without proper authorization*

Two hours later both US Marines and EDC officers arrived at the hospital at the same time which meant there was now a new problem, who would guard Kerenai while she was stuck in the hospital

"Okay how about this since both sides want to protect her how about both sides protect her"

"Uh, what do you mean Lt.?"

"Easy sir, we find out who we're most compatible with and then one EDC officer and one Marine make a team and the team guards the Lt. while she's stuck in here"

"Sounds good to me after all once she's stable enough to the doctor's standards she's going to Bethesda and since that'll be American soil I think everyone will be relieved and the guards won't have to work quite as hard then"

"Yeah, um about the Lt.'s brother how is he alive anyways?"

"Apparently he never died on that mission like they thought he had, instead he had amnesia and recovered his memories right around the time the fight for earth's freedom happened. Once that war was over he informed his superiors about the fact he was alive and had regained his memory but Lt. Kerenai wasn't told in case either one of them died before she turned eighteen, though her brother was to be told if she did die before that age because he somehow knew about her and knew what was needed"

"How did he find out about her after all he died three years before she was born, or at least that's what was thought of by the family and the government"

"We don't know but he did find out and the government decided he would have the right to know about her death if it ever happened"

"Well we have a Lt. to guard so let's split up into pairs now"

Three days later everyone was pretty tired because more EDC and Marines had been pulled in to protect Sara because of just how tenacious terrorists were in getting to Sara. Some had been injured but the others were simply too tired and fresh troops were in constant need, fortunately the doctors were satisfied enough that they could end Sara's sedation and she could also be transferred to Bethesda after a full check-up. Several hours later Sara woke up for the first time in almost two weeks and saw several soldiers


	6. Chapter 6

"Get me home"

"We're working on it Kerenai...hey you're awake the doctor said you might be waking up about now"

"Where am I?"

"Germany, closest place after where you've been"

"Right, I know that I've already been proven to be me I have one more thing to tell you guys as part of an authorization code Echo one five eight two two bravo niner one one niner"

"Wait but that code means..."

"Exactly, tell the others I gave the code"

"Will do, now then you should know that your original guards which you never met are no longer your only guards because of the frequent attacks"

(Groans) "I should have known they wouldn't give up on me so easily"

"Yeah well no one's died so we're lucky"

Sara goes back to sleep while her guards come in to replace the old shift

"Hey guys there's something you should know Lt. Kerenai woke up briefly and gave me an authorization code that no one else could give us"

"Oh which code is that because she has multiple codes if I recall"

"Echo one five eight two two bravo niner one one niner"

"But that's the..."

"I know it is so be very careful in regards to that code"

"Don't worry we will but she must be worried if she's using  _that_  code"

"I think she was going to give that code anyways but when I told her what's been going on these past few days she got a worried look on her face"

"Well we'd best start our patrol now if we want to get anything done"

"Right, and let's hope we don't have to  _use_  that authorization code because otherwise things could get a bit messy"

For the rest of the week attacks kept happening and the soldiers tried their best to handle things without resorting to the code Sara had given but two days before she was transferred to Bethesda they were forced to use the authorization code and kill twelve attackers and wound seven others. The innocent civilians were fortunately not hurt but as expected they had a  _lot_  of explaining to do about opening fire inside a hospital when there were innocent civilians in range and in their sights

"We had no choice in the matter, besides we were given the authorization code so we were allowed to do so and it was needed"

"What code? I never heard you were given a code"

"It happened here in the hospital"

"Okay what code and who gave it?"

"All you need to hear is the code to know who gave it Echo one five eight two two bravo niner one one niner, that's the code we were given"

"That code hasn't been used in years and only one person can give that code and she's a patient here"

"Yeah well I think before the infection she was going to give that code anyways having been a prisoner for three years. When we told her what had been going on here she gave us the code then and there"

"All right you had proper authorization but still...did you have to kill so many of them?"

"Sorry those we killed were really persistent"

"Fine I accept your explanation and I think we should talk to the doctor about upping the moving plans to today, tomorrow at the latest"

"He's not going to like this, he only just declared her stable enough to travel yesterday and wants to keep her for another two days just to make sure"

"Too bad her safety should always come first and since no one should know where she's being moved or when she should be safe in America"

"Let's hope so because I have no idea how much longer we guards can keep this up all of us are bordering on exhaustion"

"That's why I've moved the time table up or am going to try to anyways"

Fortunately the doctor agreed to her going back to America that afternoon having realized that since she was stable for the moment it really was best for everyone's safety that she be taken back to America for further monitoring and treatment. While on the plane her protectors thought back hours earlier

_hours earlier_

"Someone get that guy before he kills Kerenai"

"What...do you think...I'm trying to...do here!"

Moments earlier a gun and fist fight had started over the protection of Lt. Sara Kerenai and things were getting very interesting seeing as how they were coming en mass and not many people were capable of stopping them

"Would someone  _please_  call for back up already"

"What do you think that push of the button on my watch was?"

"Oh I don't know how EDC watches work so I didn't know that"

"Well watch your back we've got more coming"

"Good thing doors are locked and people are hidden"

"No kidding I honestly thought we would have more damage then what we currently have"

Eventually things settled down and they were able to stop the constant attacks against Kerenai

"That should do it now, so how bad has it been?"

"Bad we killed twelve and wounded seven others, luckily all civilians are safe"

"That's good to hear I would hate to think of what would have happened if they weren't"

"No kidding I also don't want to think about what would have happened if we hadn't been given that authorization code by Kerenai"

"Please don't go there we honestly don't want to think about that either"

"Right now then let's do what we can to clean up and then get ready for explanations"

They did so and were indeed ready to explain all their actions

_Present_

The trip home was good and Marissa Fairborne was actually there to greet them, two of the EDC officers remembered those few weeks when they had first been informed that Sara was MIA (Missing In Action). The captain was  _not_  to be underestimated when she was dealing with a wide range of emotions as the enemy found out several times, of course for the first few hours they weren't sure how their commanding officer would deal with the possible death of a good friend whom she had helped raise before and during the war to free earth

_Three years earlier at the EDC base_

"Hello?...could you repeat that...I see how long?...I see...yes I understand...yes sir...yes sir...I will sir...bye"

Fairborne hangs up the phone and goes to the gun range and everyone could tell she was ticked. It would take five more hours before they would find out about Sara being deemed MIA. When they finally got word that Sara had somehow escaped on her own they were relieved. Three years later when Sara was accused of betraying her country they were shocked until the truth came out twelve days later that Sara had never escaped but should have been deemed MIA/KIA (Killed In Action) until just days earlier, hours in more reality

_Present time_

Once Sara was settled into her room everyone relaxed knowing that she was finally safe from the terrorists that had been going after her

"How were things in Germany?"

"Bad there were constant attempts to get at her, when she woke up and was told everything that had been going on while she was sedated and asleep she gave us the authorization code that only she can give us"

"Which authorization code?"

" _The_  code Echo one five eight two two bravo niner one one niner"

"Okay she must've been wanting to give that code from the start but because of how fast the infection set in she couldn't"

"That's our theory as well, at the end we killed twelve terrorists and wounded seven others no civilian casualties which we lucked out on"

"How so?"

"The terrorists were tenacious that last time and indiscriminant as well they just were shooting any where's there was movement not a good thing if you ask me"

"So how was she on the trip?"

"Exhausted, apparently she still has some light sedatives in her system because of just how severe the infection was, not to mention the antibiotics she was given in Germany apparently hurt to the bone so for the first three days they kept her sedated. Once she was done with the three days they allowed the medicine to do natural sedation, let's not forget it's a long flight home"

"So she's getting much needed rest, hopefully we'll be able to finally allow her to go home in a few days but that all depends on the doctors"

"Yeah, oh the doctors do have her updated medical files right?"

"Yes they arrived here two hours before you guys did over the internet, but the doctors want the physical copies as well"

"Bluebottle allergy who knew because she can eat seafood as far as I know"

"Yes she can, it's not the actual meat that's the problem it's the venom, she's been tested for bee's and she's not reactive to them so it's always a hit and miss on what she's allergic to"

The guards went home and got a decent nights sleep for the first time in weeks. While that was going on Sara woke up and instantly knew she was in a new hospital, when she turned her head and saw Fairborne she knew she was in America because Fairborne was too important to leave the country at the moment

"Hey Marissa, where am I?"

"Bethesda, we decided to move up your transfer date because of how many attacks there had been"

"Yeah I was going to give those guys the authorization code as soon as I was in the German hospital but I was sedated for the first three days and couldn't"

"Yeah that's what we figured about that code"

"How long am I stuck here?"

"Don't know yet but it'll be a few days yet while they figure out if the new antibiotic is really doing the trick and are certain you aren't having any adverse reactions"

(Sighs) "I feel like I've been in medical since I escape from being a prisoner a few weeks ago"

"Uh Sara you have been in medical since your escape"

"Oh yeah guess it just slipped my mind, though actually I was in my brother's office for a quick debrief on his side for a few minutes"

"Ah so you know about Mark do you?"

"Yeah I understand why I wasn't told but still I wish I had found out sooner"

"We know but now that you know about him and he's retaken his real name you can get together whenever you two are not on duty"

Two days later Sara would be forced to move and defend herself again. An American terrorist group that didn't like the military took over the hospital and they were down to a very unique K-series gun


	7. Chapter 7

"Sara I hate to do this to you again but you have to shoot and run time for the K-42 to get to work"

"Okay is that the only gun left to us?"

"Yes it is"

"Got it"

The K-42 was a shotgun designed specifically for the military, it was a pump action shotgun that wasn't loaded in the normal manner. Instead of individual shots being put into the gun, like a semi-automatic or full automatic weapon the gun was fed through magazines. The magazines weren't loaded underneath though instead the magazine went in the top of the gun, so that it was the length of a normal shotgun that anyone could use in a pinch. Sara remembered the first time the gun was in use when she was only eight years old and they were using the K-42 for the first time

_Eight year old Kerenai_

"We need that shotgun and we need it now!"

Sara tosses the gun to the soldier who asks knowing that it was urgent from his tone of voice

"Here be careful!"

The battle was intense and Sara herself had to go into battle with the shotgun and wasn't seen for over two hours which was how long the battle lasted after they had to bring out the shotgun

"So where are the intruders?"

"They're dead trust me"

_an hour earlier_

"You...will not...get to...my home!"

Each time she said something she shot her weapon as emphasis to her declaration. An hour later she was back at base and things had settled down after being given a full report

_Present_

"Okay you...will never...get this...hospital!"

The group evacuated everyone they could but eventually they had to leave it up to the SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team. But Sara decided it was time that the SWAT teams around the country finally had a hands up in regards to powerful shotguns that were sometimes needed

"Hey officers you got normal shotgun rounds in there?"

"Yeah why?"

"This is why"

She hands over her shotgun

"The K-42 shotgun only the military is allowed to have this gun"

"Not anymore I've decided it's time that the SWAT teams around the country also have this gun, you load it from the top so that it doesn't mess up the pump action of the shotgun"

"And just how do you know we'll be allowed to keep this gun and how it works?"

"Because it's part of the K-series weapons or the full name is the Kerenai series weapons which means I designed them and I say what happens to them"

"That would do it"

"Now then I still need to be in a hospital but I also want to help more then just giving you guys a gun"

"Oh no, if you're in the hospital there must be a reason, you get yourself to another hospital immediately, though how are you ambulatory?"

"Don't ask just please don't ask"

"Ah one of those you have no other choice situations?"

"Yes the second one in several weeks"

"Um that doesn't make any sense"

"Sorry but that's all you're hearing from me everything else is deemed classified"

They make sure that Sara was being evacuated to another hospital because they had decided she needed to be under observation for whatever ailed her

"So apparently the police have finally succeeded in getting the hospital back under military control"

"And the terrorists?"

"They'll be facing some major charges as for you you're actually going to be released and allowed to go home for the rest of your antibiotic treatment and you can also take your GED test and see how far behind you are"

"Great news I was getting a bit tired of being in a hospital or the battlefield equivalent of one"

She goes home and three days later takes the GED test and passes it, even though she had missed three years of schooling she knew enough to actually get her GED. Once that was confirmed it was decided that she would wait until she was fully recovered to rejoin the armed forces. She had decided to join the Navy to eventually become a SEAL (Sea Air and Land), she also made that decision to make it easy on the Marine corps so that they didn't always have to wonder where her brother was posted so she wouldn't be posted under or with him. While she was taking the antibiotics she also started training so that she could regain her strength after everything she had been through, though she did make sure to pace herself so that she didn't set her recovery back. Once she was given the all clear she signed up to join the Navy though she would also be called to serve other branches if need be because she was going to go into a longer basic training period so that she could do the basic training of every branch and except for the Navy because that was the branch she was going to join anyways if they had a special forces branch she was going to go into special forces training as well. Her Navy special forces training would happen at the same time she was undergoing basic training for the Navy but no one but the trainers and Kerenai herself knew all of this

"Now Kerenai are you absolutely certain you still want to be ready for any branch of the military?"

"Yes I do it's what I was meant for and would have done if not for the stupid war, I did it anyways once the war was over"

"Fine hopefully you can truly join basic training for the Navy in a year but if not it's understandable"

As it turned out it would take exactly one year for her to undergo all the training she needed for every other branch and finally she was where she needed to be for the basic training of the Navy

"All right everyone here isn't ready to be an officer of the Navy much less an enlisted soldier so we're starting with PT" (Physical Training) "and that starts out with a nice two mile jog"

Everyone including Sara groaned at that number because Sara, while she was used to such rigorous workouts had recently noticed her left leg spasming whenever she jogged for long periods of time, it had only been going on for three days but it was a big enough concern that she was planning on going to the infirmary as soon as she good so she decided to speak up

"Sir may I be excused while I get checked out?"

"What for?"

"Well for the past three days whenever I go jogging my left leg starts to spasm, this is the first time I'll actually be able to see a doctor about it"

"Very well, and if it turns out you've injured yourself you'll be pushed back to the next class that's available to you once you heal"

"Yes sir"

It turned out she had accidentally strained her lower left leg muscles and needed to rest them for at least six weeks to insure healing

"Well guess I will be back here in six weeks"

"Yes and you will be checked out by either me or the on duty medic before any strenuous activities"

"I understand doctor"

Six weeks later Sara was anxious to get back into the game and start serving her country after going through basic training. She arrived to where she would get that training a day early and went to the medic hoping for good news


	8. Chapter 8

"Well Kerenai I have good news and I have bad news"

"What's the bad news?"

"Your leg still isn't quite up to strength in regards to what you might have to do"

(Sighs) "I understand what's the good news?"

"That you can get it back to par in basic training starting tomorrow"

"You mean I'm clear for full exercise?"

"Yes as long as you pay attention to your body and don't overextend yourself you're cleared to participate in everything you need to do"

"Thanks doc guess I'll be getting to my bunk and preparing for tomorrow then"

The next day the trainers were informed Kerenai could participate fully and they started off with a two mile run like the first time she was there. They continued that routine for the rest of the time and included shooting after two weeks. Three weeks into basic training though they were given basic SERE training in the form of interrogation, they were given multiple ranks for the training so as to make it real for them

"How many are there?"

"Kerenai, Sara Lt. 0012569 8/3/2013"

"Where is the base?"

"Kerenai, Sara Lt. 0012569 8/3/2013"

"This one isn't talking let's go"

They shoved her out of the chair hard enough to force her to the ground where she found a nail that she could use and she took it. Once in the cell she used the nail to pick the lock on both hers and the two people with her chains, she then used it to pick the lock on the door. Once that was done they did a quick search for others but couldn't find any so they went into escape mode which they did. They spent the next three days living off the land trying to get to a place of safety when suddenly they were flooded with lights which forced them to stop

"All right that's enough for you three, now it's time to talk to other POW's who have been through that and much worse"

They go to the meeting room where everyone else was looking a little worse for wear but all right just the same

"So where you guys when we were taken here three hours ago?"

"We succeeded in escaping, we tried to find you guys but failed so we had to leave you behind"

The lead trainer spoke up

"There's a reason why that happened, you see we split you guys up into teams varying between three and twelve members depending on who did what in the interrogation room and how they conducted themselves outside the room. The three that managed to escape have never met before yet were also the most level headed and thus succeeded in escaping. Once that was done they tried to find you guys but since you were in another area of the building and they had to be fast they were forced to leave you behind, Johnson was given the rank of Rear Admiral lower half making him the highest ranking officer, Kerenai was second in command with the rank of Lt., Anderson here was given the lowest rank of Master Chief Petty Officer. This was to signify that no matter the rank you can still get captured in the field. And yes we know Admirals wouldn't normally be in the field and would be doing paperwork but they sometimes have to do inspections when the ship is not in port or something major happens that requires someone of that rank out there. As I was saying earlier those three excelled while being captives and the Lt. and Master Chief Petty Officer obeyed all of Johnson's orders no matter how strange they may have seemed at the time, Lt. Kerenai here was the only one to take note of patrol routes and times, and also the only one to notice the nail when pushed to the floor. The rest of you failed to note that nail and tried to force your ways out resulting in you being recaptured. The Lt. and her team on the other hand worked together, when the Lt. felt she had the pattern down she told the other two yet left it up to Johnson to make the final call as ranking officer, while that was going on Anderson made the decision to be the last person out if he was allowed and then took it upon himself to make sure that they weren't followed no matter where they camped. That was smart thinking on his part as in real life that would mean less of a chance to be recaptured while trying to make it to safety, however you gave us the devil of the time finding you to bring you guys in and..."

"Sir I know it's rude to interrupt but I just want to apologize for that, if I had known that the interrogation exercise was ending I would have made it easier for us to be found"

"No Anderson you did the right thing and what you were trained to do, we just used other means to find you. As I was saying we had a devil of the time finding you to bring you guys in and have a talk with people who have been to war and been captured and even two who weren't captured only because of training and smart thinking on their part"

And so the stories began and people were revolted by what they heard except for Kerenai having been through pretty much the same thing, they even told some stories about what happened to some of them during the war for earth's freedom. When the last soldier spoke the lead trainer had noticed Kerenai writing something down and initially figured it was notes but when he was handed the notebook he got a surprise

_the message_

"Commander I know I wouldn't normally do this but I need these recruits to truly understand what they're getting into, have some forms ready that states they are sworn to secrecy about this because only people of certain rank can know that I was serving our country long before beginning training and you know this. I am going to tell them my story of being a POW for three years, held by terrorists"

"Okay everyone Kerenai has something she wants to add and afterwords if you're below a certain rank you have to sign secrecy forms and you will know if you're below a certain rank or not instantly"

Sara goes to the center of the circle where there was a chair and sits in it

"All right first of all you should know I'm not going into full details, that would not only take too long but some of my story...isn't a pleasant thing. The story I'm about to tell happens four years ago in Iran when an alien race called Quintessons started to cause real trouble for the country, though the real story starts nineteen years ago when I was a month old and lost my birth parents to a base attack. My parents were EDC officers and for my survival sent me away from the base with a fellow officer, I was then raised by the Cybertronians per my parents will until I was five, and when I was four powers I was born with were revealed giving me the rank of Lt. and yes that is my actual rank in the armed forces I'm just retraining because of what happened four years ago. As I was saying four years ago I was in school while things were happening in Iran when the President had no choice but to bring me in, so joining a Marine unit I went to Iran. No one could have expected our patrol to be ambushed by terrorists working with the Quintessons that day, we fought as hard as we could but we were ultimately captured, tortured and interrogated. The rest of the team was killed within the first few weeks of captivity, I however wasn't as lucky because of who I am. Initially they wanted several access codes that I wouldn't give them and even told them that the codes would have been changed as soon as it was obvious I was missing, but that wasn't the worst of it. Somehow they made an exact duplicate that could use my powers, the very same powers I kept in check and in secret except when they were really needed. Eventually they got tired of asking me the same questions and getting the same answers, so they resorted to simply beating me to a pulp every few days while the imposter was serving in my place. They would whip me until I bled and then whipped me some more, they electrocuted me a few times, they actually used their cigarette butts to scar me. One time they almost...assaulted me but the leader wouldn't allow it fortunately, they never asked for codes again but they asked for other classified information which I never gave. This went on for three years the whipping the electrocution, the burning, oh and let's not forget starving me half to death and barely enough water to survive. Finally though they made a mistake, a mistake I capitalized on, it allowed me to escape from that place and try and find a safe location. As I was supposed to be raised by the Cybertronians I am technically considered an international citizen under extreme circumstances but have an American passport. After five days I made it to a Canadian base, passing out as soon as I was close enough to ask for help. I was out cold for another seven days after which my brother Mark Kerenai had to come to the Canadian base to confirm it was me after the impostor died in the brig and a chemical wasn't detected. After that was done we had to escape from the Canadian base and went to the American base. Once that was done I fought an infection, and after a few days stabilized enough to be transferred to Germany who sedated me because of the antibiotic that I was put on. Eventually I was taken to Bethesda which was attacked by American terrorists. Once I was released from hospital I underwent an antibiotic regiment and eventually underwent training in every branch of the armed forces just in case, though I had ultimately chosen to serve the Navy. And that's basically my story, like I said some of my story hasn't been told because of just how bad it was, in reality what you just heard is only the tip of the iceberg I went through so much more than what you've heard it would give you nightmares. I had to pass a psych evaluation before being allowed to serve my country, which I did pass though I still sometimes see a councilor about what I've been through. And no needing to talk to someone isn't a sign of weakness it's actually a sign of strength showing that you know you need help or need to talk to someone about what you've seen and been through"

An SAS (Secret Air Service) soldier speaks up

"She's right in fact I don't know about in America but recently it's been made mandatory for both special forces and regular forces in Great Britain to see either a chaplain or a trained professional after every tour, hard battle or being freed from captivity for any period of time. We've learned that it's okay to say you need help even beyond mandatory meetings"

Sara speaks up again

"You know I once thought that I had seen the worst of it during the war to free earth, that started when I was five and ended when I was twelve, I was wrong. When I got back to America and was undergoing treatment for my infection, which I still don't know how I got, I realized I needed professional help because what I had been through during those three years went beyond anything I had seen or dealt with while fighting to free earth. Like I said I still see a councilor every so often when the three years start to overwhelm me and I can't get any sleep, or well decent amount of sleep really, and that's after a year of being free"

The head trainer speaks up again

"That's just some of the stories of what it's like to be a POW and some people have actually had it worse than Lt. Kerenai here"

A recruit speaks up

"Not possible, nothing can be worse than what Kerenai here just described"

Sara herself speaks up

"Want to bet? I have heard stories about comrades being forced to watch others die, two have actually had to kill fellow soldiers on their orders because they could feel themselves breaking and the soldiers asking to be killed were senior officers, senior officers made the decision to die by their comrades hands then to either break or die by the enemies hands. And let's not forget the holocaust, and I  _know_  you've read stories and seen pictures of that time"

Everyone gets silent and into deep thinking while the guest speakers had to leave. Eventually everyone was able to leave the room where they had the very deep conversation and one recruit decided to ask Kerenai a very serious question

"Kerenai I know that what you've said is true in some sense but tell me, can what everyone told us today really happen to us out there?"

(Sighs) "Lewis...I want to tell you that everything will be alright and nothing will happen but that would be a lie. Yes the stories you've heard can and do happen to POW's around the world some are just a bit more extreme then others. I'm actually lucky considering how long I was a prisoner"

"Lucky...how? I don't see how you could consider yourself lucky from what you've told us"

"Lewis I'm alive, I made it out of there and fought back like a good soldier should"

"But if what you're saying is true why continue this? Why go back out there only to be hurt again?"

"I don't know why others have done it but I do know my reasons, it's because I know I'm making a difference out in the world. I have a story for you it happened a year before I was taken as a POW. I was working a relief effort with the Navy and it was supposed to be a simple go in where there had been disaster, stay a few weeks then go home, unfortunately it didn't turn out that way. When we got there it turned out that civil unrest had already taken over so it was hard for us to do our jobs as the relief effort. The military of the country just couldn't cope having just been through not one but two Tsunamis in under six months so they were stretched to their limits already. A team made up of Navy SEAL's, Marines and enlisted Navy crewmen were sent out on a reconnaissance mission to find us a safe spot to set up, or if it wasn't safe initially make it safe because not everyone could come to the medical boat. I was part of the Navy team and we knew the SEAL's had our backs so we went ahead two blocks, and two blocks was all it took for things to go from bad to we had to get out of there. The SEAL team and one of mine didn't make it back, unfortunately at the time we had no option but to leave their bodies there due to just how dangerous the location was. We were forced to yank their tags off their necks and get back to the ship. When we got back it was obvious that the mission was a failure, two days later we were able to get the bodies of our fallen with the help of the local military because by that time they had managed to regain a semblance of order. One Marine who was fresh out of boot camp and only just able to remember a little of the fighting at the tail end of the war to free earth called the rest of us cold hearted because the rest of us didn't sit around and mourn our loss. We just took the tags and ran back to safety, he would later learn that once we were safe even without the bodies we requested the rest of the duty day off to allow us time to mourn our loss. We couldn't do it properly until we recovered our dead but we did start the mourning period by coming together and with the dog tags out in the middle of the circle one by one reading their names and thanking them. When we recovered our fallen we had a proper farewell before their bodies were sent back to their families ahead of us while we kept helping people. We honored their memories by doing that and the Marine learned a valuable lesson that day, we don't always get the chance to say a proper goodbye when the soldier is lost initially but we always make sure to give them the proper respect once we are safe. While I was recovering from the infection a year ago that same Marine was now a first Lt. and he thanked me for that harsh lesson all those years ago"

"Why would he thank you?"

"Because he was able to help his team a year after I was captured, you see he was in Iran and his unit was getting pounded, back up was still half an hour away, planes couldn't fly because of the weather, Iran was having trouble getting it's tanks out there as well because of another area giving them some major problems, he was surrounded and in trouble. Ultimately he lost three soldiers under his command and two of them were rookies, he was facing the same situation as just about two years before because the terrorists were so good that they would have no time to recover the bodies. So he ordered the men to take the tags and leave the bodies for later, which annoyed his men greatly but orders are orders. When he got back he told them his story of how when he was just out of boot camp and the peace mission that forced  _him_  to leave people behind due to the fact that they were dead. When he told his men that story it actually gave them a good reference point and also allowed them to understand that he hadn't made an easy decision, he had made the best choice he could in that situation and with the information he had at the time. They never did manage to recover the bodies because right when they were ready the enemy took that option away from them by blowing up the building the remains were in. A kind of last gesture of defiance, the enemy basically saying if we can't have the bodies no one can and that is hard on families. Special Forces know that sometimes their bodies can't be recovered because of the mission being classified but regular Marines? I know that if I was ever in that situation I would want the body of my loved one back"

"Okay I get that the story is supposed to make me understand that sometimes it's good to press on no matter what the circumstances but in regards to what you guys have been through? I don't get it"

"Maybe this will help better, in the military we form a family because of what we sometimes go through together. I would never abandon my family if I still had the chance and capability to stay with them, it's not always easy but as long as I'm capable I'm willing to suffer anything to help my brothers and sisters in the armed forces"

"Okay in a way I understand that after all I have two brothers myself and would do anything to protect them but still how do you keep yourself sane, or not need to be medically retired due to what you've been through?"

"Not all soldiers are capable of doing that actually, some soldiers have suffered such horrific injuries in captivity that they have no choice but to be medically discharged. And some have PTSD" (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) "or PTSS" (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) "so severe they have no choice but to be medically discharged as well because they are a danger to both themselves and others and need more professional help then simple councilors or chaplains can provide"

"And those that do succeed?"

"They find coping methods that are safe and manageable and are told that they will be watched to see if they become unmanageable because that means they are a danger to themselves and that simply cannot be allowed. Have you ever had family in the Armed Forces or the civilian services?"

"Like what?"

"Police, Fire, or Medic?"

"Actually yeah my uncle is a Police officer and my older cousin is a Firefighter"

"Have you ever noticed any habits they might have in regards to their jobs?"

"Actually now that I think about it yeah. I've been over to their houses a few times after they get off a job and they are quite for a few minutes while they put their uniforms away and don't talk to anyone, my uncle makes sure his gun is locked safely away from the younger kids who don't know about weapon safety while my cousin just gets out of her work clothes. Both also try and take a shower if at all possible though sometimes it's not due to their being dinner or someone is already in the bathroom, once that's done they eat if it's time to eat and talk about station stuff around the younger kids. Once the little ones are to bed they talk a little more about their days about any fires or arrests they might have had to deal with, though I've noticed that they don't go into much detail about some of the grittier things they might have to do in the course of their jobs"

"Exactly, that's their way of coping, some civil service workers shut off a part of themselves to be able to cope and others have other ways of doing things it all depends on the person. That's what we try and do in the military as well, we try to cope with what we go through in as safe a way as possible, you know you may not see it but your family's bosses also keep a sharp eye out on their teammates to see if they might need a little help, especially when they were in their rookie stages. Rookies have to be watched extremely closely because of just how new they are to the job"

"Say remember when they were teaching us survival for SERE training?"

"Yeah and you guys looked at me weird while the instructors just gave a knowing nod"


	9. Chapter 9

_A few days earlier at the start of SERE training_

"Okay everyone, due to the fact that you serve on board a ship it's highly unlikely that you will be captured and taken to land to be tortured and interrogated. However since that is still a possibility we're going to teach you guys how to live off the land in case you ever do wind up in such a scenario"

They bring out cages with covers only to quickly remove the covers to reveal farm animals. Kerenai is the only one to speak up

"Please tell me those are roosters and rabbits for eating"

"That they are Kerenai, everyone here will be taught how to properly dispatch the animals and then how to properly prepare it for food. Anyone who's ever hunted which it sounds like Kerenai has, already knows what to do so you'll be helping the rest of your class afterwords. Though first of all who here has ever hunted before?"

As it turned out only Sara raised her hand in regards to the hunting question and all the trainers knew that Sara had only hunted for survival but she hunted, this was mainly due to the fact that while everyone had lived during the war their cells had decided to keep kids out of it as much as possible, except for a few of them who had lived in such extreme locations the Quintessons didn't bother trying to take over those areas so they lived in peace

"All right seeing as how only one of you knows how to hunt we trainers will be keeping an eye on everyone to make sure you don't hurt or kill yourself with food poisoning"

They start the teaching process when Sara interrupts for a very solid reason

"Um instructor Payson could I go hunting?"

"Why would you need to...oh wait why are we short on rabbits?"

"Don't know sir, we told the farm what we needed I guess they miscounted"

(Sighs) "Okay I guess Kerenai can go hunt, though that may take a while so one of the newer instructors go with her to make sure she gets back here as fast as she can"

"Don't worry sir, if I don't find anything in five hours I'll just skip the meal, people surviving have to do that all the time even if they don't like it"

Fortunately within two hours they found a rabbit and killed it bringing it back to the group already gutted and skinned

"Hey Kerenai how come you've already prepped the food without us supervising?"

"Did you honestly want me to get sick? The longer you leave dead food out without proper prepping the more stomach contents can spoil the food, and if I had messed up on the gutting I still wouldn't have been able to eat it. The only reason I brought the meat back is because it's a fairly short walk from where I found the rabbit"

"Then how come it took you two hours to find a rabbit and kill it?"

"Simple for most of the time I had to wait, now then I believe we were making a nice stew to eat as part of our survival training"

Thirty minutes later one of the recruits decided to grab his cup to eat the food but Sara slapped his hand away

"What was that for?"

"Simple the food still has at least fifteen minutes to go"

"But the water's boiling and I'm hungry"

"Water has to be boiling for at least fifteen minutes to be sure that any pathogens are destroyed, and if we were doing this without water trust me it would be taking a lot longer and you would be hungry even longer then you will be"

"Kerenai's right, she has hunting experience which you don't have, she knows the ins and outs of the whole situation she's currently in. Eating food especially meat before it's ready is dangerous, you never know just what the animal has been eating or been, you don't even know the water it's been drinking"

"But you yourselves said the rabbits come off a farm so they should be safe to eat now"

"There's also the fact that you simply don't eat raw meat unless it's sushi or meant to be eaten raw, but if you're not used to it, you...will..get...sick period the end of it, look just another fifteen minutes and the food will be ready"

They continued waiting when suddenly Kerenai actually grabbed her issued rifle

"Did anyone else just hear something?"

"Must have been your imagination Kerenai, either that or the fire"

"No fires sound different, this sounds like something stalking us"

"Okay Kerenai, Instructor Johnson go check it out, if you're not back in ten minutes we're dousing the fire and finishing this lesson another day"

It would turn out that a deer had wondered a bit too close to camp to be unnoticed by any movement, and a quick check with night vision goggles confirmed it was only the deer that was in the area. The two were back at camp in five minutes

"That was fast"

"Just a deer getting a bit too close to come undetected"

"And if it was something dangerous?"

"Warning shots to start off and then if it still came I would have killed it, cleaned it, and brought it over to be cooked for another day"

"Well food's ready so let's eat"

The next day it was the start of the interrogation part that only three would successfully escape from

_Present time_

"We didn't realize that you had to hunt to survive those five days to get to the Canadian base"

"There's another time I hunted to survive, my group was one of the rare groups that allowed the kids to join in on the fighting and hunting, we hunted to survive and that was final"

"Hunting and trapping saved your life, and boy when we heard how good your team was we were amazed you found food the entire time, was that your doing?"

"Actually Anderson was the main person who found food, while all of us hunted for food being the rear guard he was the one to really notice where animals were. It's not always a good thing to be a scout that goes on ahead"

"You've been out in the field, just how important is SERE for someone in that situation?"

"Very it keeps you grounded for longer periods of time, it also gives you something to fall back on if there's no semblance of balance and normal"

Finally though everyone who was going to graduate graduated and most were given their ship assignments, except for the few that had decided to go into the medical field straight out of basic training, those would be given orders to report to medical school and put in the reserves while that was happening. Kerenai however was given different orders, she was to replace an injured cadre in Ranger training afterwords she was going to a new Ranger unit, after all she was a 75th Ranger and that meant that she could be called to active duty at any point from any where's in the world. Even if that meant calling her from the Navy, the only time she wouldn't be serving with other branches or special forces was if she was doing a more important job. Basically the only time she wouldn't be with one group was if she was with another plain and simple, though the President also made sure that she would always have furlough so as to hopefully prevent combat fatigue


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey Lt. how you doing?"

"Good sir how's the injured cadre?"

"Broken ankle, he's out of action for at least six weeks, remember your first time here after we freed earth?"

"Oh yeah you guys commended me on how I dealt with the injury, but you still rolled me back six weeks to allow me proper healing"

_Years earlier_

Kerenai was cold, wet and tired, and was also doing a range finding exercise in the driving rain. She didn't know it but the cadre was watching her right when she tripped over a branch

"Stupid branch"

She tried to move her left arm and realized that both the arm and wrist  _hurt_

"Okay situation report time, I'm injured, I'm alone, and if this were real for all I know I could be dealing with enemy forces following me. Right then time to do field medicine and continue on"

The cadre was about to go over to her to see if something was seriously wrong when he noticed her taking off her bag and doing field medicine, which was reduced to her making a sling and putting her left arm in the sling. When she stood up the cadre noticed she did a quick ankle test to see if her ankles were also injured, and when she noticed nothing else was injured she took her weapon, compass and map and continued on her mission. At the end of the exercise she was the only one coming in with obvious injuries, and the cadre commended her publicly about pushing herself even injured

"Okay everyone, as you may notice Kerenai here has her left arm in a sling, she tripped in the rain while doing her mapping and injured herself, she did field medicine and kept pushing as if she was on mission, that's something that's rare and should be commended, but she's still being pushed back for proper medical treatment. she probably imagined her patrol was over and she tripped and hurt herself, but since they were close enough to base she simply requested simple field medicine until she could get further treatment at base"

"Understood cadre, but you're wrong about the scenario I put myself in"

"Oh what scenario did you put yourself in then?"

"I was alone, injured and had possible enemies after me. I don't care what you imagine me dealing with to force me to be alone but that was how I put myself"

"Dang that's what I call an extreme scenario, now then report to the medic who will most likely call for an ambulance and once we know what x-rays say we'll see how long we have to push you back"

As it turned out she was pushed back for six weeks for a broken wrist and a dislocated shoulder

_Present_

"Alright recruits this is Lt. Kerenai she's replacing Sgt. Macgyver while he's recovering from his broken ankle"

The rest of the time was actually peaceful and just as the current recruits finished training the injured cadre returned and Kerenai was sent to a new unit

"So Lt. what's your skill?"

"I'm what you call an all rounder I can be anything and everything you need. Short a medic? No problem got you covered, need an explosives expert? I can handle it, need someone to take up a gunner position? Tell me. I can handle any position you give me and if something happens and a leader is needed I will step up and take charge of the unit to ensure the completion of the mission"

"How do I know you're telling me the truth?"

"I'll show you the proof you need to know I can handle this"

She turns around and takes off her shirt to reveal her scarred back

"Good grief what happened to you?"

"Three years of torture from when I was fifteen to the age of eighteen. I finally escaped capture and made my way to a Canadian base which told the closest American base once I woke up because my identity needed to be confirmed through a unique blood test. Almost died a few times too but I survived and made it back"

"What about the rest of your team and your original position?"

"I was with a Marine unit at the time on simple patrol, we never finished the patrol naturally and over the first few weeks my unit was killed while I survived for three years being tortured"

"SERE training in full effect?"

"Oh yeah, and that's part of the reason why my torture was so bad at times I never gave them what they wanted and that ticked them off"

"Uh excuse me, I know about SERE training, every recruit has had to go through it but remind me again how that's supposed to help because I haven't had a refresher course in a while"

"Okay what is SERE training supposed to do for you?"

_Okay I got this off of Google so it might not be accurate. I apologize to any military, former military or relatives of military officers who read this_

"SERE training is for and I quote. 'SERE training is intended, above all, to provide students with the skills needed to live up to the US military code of conduct when in uncertain or hostile environments. It is: One I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense. Two I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist. Three If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and to aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy. Four If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information nor take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way. Five When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability, I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause. Six I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.' End quote, I know that and have been through all of that annually but still I have yet to truly understand all this hype about SERE when I haven't had to put it into action myself"

"Well I have and trust me it was the only thing keeping me going sometimes, I never had anyone else be a prisoner with me and I never saw another prisoner while I was trying to escape but while my unit was with me we did everything we could to make the enemy mad. We inserted random history facts per our orders and added a few others, once I was alone I gave the enemy dummy locations that I knew would lead terrorists to capture or at the very least keep the enemy from gaining valuable intelligence on us and our allies. Once I did something so good it shocked me no one thought it was from me and sent a team to try and find and rescue me"

"What did you do?"

"Not only did I give them the location of a false UN" (United Nations) "Peacekeeping base I also gave them false missile launch codes that when activated would send out an alert world wide that someone was trying to gain access to missiles that were dangerous, the codes would also send out a secondary alert to the White House that I was alive, possibly injured but alive. So when rescue didn't come I was initially surprised and then I figured something must have gone wrong in regards to the rescue unit. I never suspected that until a few days before I woke up or even made it to the Canadian base there was an imposter acting like me"

"Actually I remember hearing a story around the time of your captivity where a UN unit was doing checks and found out that there was someone in their false base. They captured the guys before they even got close to where they could use the launch codes. If those codes had been activated I'm sure the President would have realized what was going on and sent in a rescue unit for you, sorry Kerenai"

"Don't sweat it I know, now come on let's get some sleep and then I think we might want to do some team building exercises so we know how each other reacts to situations and what role I fit in as part of this unit"

They wouldn't get that chance unfortunately because the next day when they all woke up for exercising they were told they had to move in hard and fast on a new target


	11. Chapter 11

"When and where?"

"By tonight, I don't know if you've heard of this Lt. Kerenai but there have been recent troubles over in Uganda, well things just hit the boiling point early this morning and I mean really early this morning"

"How early is early?"

"By our estimates about 0200 hours. We only just got confirmation about everything an hour ago. Now then we highly doubt you'll be able to get the leader of the whole thing but hopefully you should be able to get high ranking officials, not to mention giving us a chance to evacuate our embassy there"

"How many people are still in the Embassy?"

"Last estimate was about fifty people some of them civilians, and Lt. according to reports one of those trapped is captain Marissa Fairborne of the EDC"

"What is she doing in Uganda?"

"No idea, when we told Mark this he requested to leave his post to lead an operation in Uganda, he was temporarily turned down"

"How did the Marines do that?"

(Snorts) "I believe they didn't do a thing besides order him to stay at his post. The President promised that if his first plan failed Mark would be allowed to lead the mission"

"Does he know I'm involved?"

"No you know the rules about that"

(Sighs) "I do, sorry just thought he might want some reassurance about Fairborne"

"Don't worry due to your...unique situation that both you and your brother is in he'll be informed the truth if you succeed or in the event you're captured"

"It finally went through?"

"Yes it finally went through, now then as for the rest of the mission debrief..."

An hour later they were up and ready to deploy. On the plane they had to talk loudly to be able to be heard

"So Kerenai what do you think about our plan? I noticed that you seemed a little dismayed at the plan"

"I do have a concern that not many have"

"Like what we're taking out a bad guy"

"Quintessons, if I'm right they might be behind this in any form that you could think of. If that's the case I'm going to be a high value target"

"Why didn't you say anything during the debrief then?"

"Simple because there's not a whole lot that can be changed in the plan to keep me safe"

"Then what can we change?"

"Keep me in the middle of the group as much as possible, but if things go sour I'm going any where's I need to go so that everyone's safe"

"Understood we'll do our best for that plan, and everyone if you get captured do what you can to resist and buy us some time to actually get people to safety"

"Sir if I'm correct there should be a Navy ship nearby, maybe we can ask them for some backup and a place to land the chopper if need be"

"Good idea and already way ahead of you, the Navy is simply waiting for our signal, when and if we give it they'll come swooping in giving us cover fire and allow us to land on the ship"

"Okay now that that's settled I have one more change to the plan that might be better for us"

"Like what?"

"We start a little further away then originally planned from the Embassy"

"What for Lt.?"

"Easy, we're putting everyone at risk landing that close, if the enemy hears us landing..."

"And you didn't say anything until now?"

"Just thought of it, because I may be a good planning, but I sort of forgot the location the Embassy was in until now"

"Okay we'll tell the pilot to try and find another location that's a little further from the Embassy"

Finally they started the attack to free the Embassy and they actually within five minutes caught a high ranking officer. Another fifteen minutes later they needed the help of the Navy to get any further and they realized they also would need that help for evacuation purposes

"Echo one Bravo six we need help coordinates one niner five mark zero three I repeat coordinates one niner five mark zero three, we also need help evacuating the Embassy"

"Roger Foxtrot we're on our way"

Soon afterwords there were planes giving the Rangers backup and everyone appreciated it, though they still lost two soldiers which Kerenai was there for

"Lt. we've lost two men"

Sara went over to the two soldiers and knew they were dead and that she didn't have time to bring their bodies so instead she grabbed the tags off the bodies and simply continued to the Embassy

"Come on let's get that Embassy evacuated"

"But the men..."

"Are dead, and we will be too if we don't leave now"

Finally they made it to the Embassy and told everyone that they were evacuating in waves

"When you hear the helicopters go to the back door, we'll keep the front as clear as possible"

Finally they were told that the only ones left were the soldiers and it was time for them to evacuate

"Lt. we're gone!"

Sara and her team boarded the chopper and the gunners on the chopper took over the protection of the soldiers. A few minutes later they were finally on the deck of the ship

"Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah we're fine, but I think you'd best be on the lookout for followers, I couldn't say anything earlier but now that we're on deck I can"

"Don't worry we've been watching our backs since we started and there have been jets in the area as well just in case"

"That's good to hear, now then I think my team and I need quarters so that we can rest and recover"

A day later Sara was actually in the hanger for some workouts and to do some hand to hand combat training which was good, and then a Navy SEAL upped the ante knowing that Kerenai was special forces at the moment

"Hey Lt. three against one?"

"No problem, but if anyone gets called to the bridge we stop"

Everyone else stops to watch the fight and are shocked that Kerenai could handle herself, in fact she was fighting so well almost no one noticed when suddenly a ship wide announcement called for Sara using a codename picked out for just such a situation where at the moment no one could know her identity. Few minutes later on the bridge

"You called for me captain?"

"Yes just got a message for you"

She reads the message and nods

"Okay tell the Ranger team leader that he's losing a member, since I'm already here I'll just change into my non special forces uniform and join your crew after I've changed"

"I see the President got my request then"

"He did, and it makes sense you've lost a few people on this mission and need immediate replacements if they are available and it just so happens I'm available"

"And the stipulation that's given about every special ops member?"

"Still there if you need to explain how I got here without a COD tell them I was brought in with those from the Embassy"

"Okay and in a way it's not a lie either, but wait what if people ask the Embassy members?"

"Only the civilians won't understand the importance of keeping the full truth quite and those that work at the Embassy are keeping an eye on the civilians so we shouldn't have any issues"

Fortunately there had been so much chaos that the civilians hadn't payed attention to who was there and those that worked in the Embassy who had payed attention understood that what she was doing was too important to tell the truth so they agreed to the lie


	12. Chapter 12

"So how long will you be here Lt.?"

"Don't know sir, I guess until we head back to port, to be honest this was kind of sudden considering I had been ordered to serve at another station before things happened"

A few days later Sara was at her assigned post in the sonar station when things started going south really fast. It started out innocently enough, she noticed a few blips for a few seconds but since they disappeared and this had been happening often enough she noted it and payed no further attention per her orders. Then suddenly she noticed the blips again and this time they were definitely headed towards them which was a major difference from the other days

"Sir I think we got something here"

"What is it?"

"These blips sir, they're coming closer"

"It's probably nothing Lt. you're just paranoid"

(Thinks) " _I think not, paranoid my foot, if I was paranoid I would have mentioned the earlier blips that popped up and initiated a few minor procedures that are routine when trying to find out if this is friend or foe myself. Seeing as how I have that authority the fact that I'm not using it says a lot I would think_ "  
(out loud) "sir I really think we've got something here"

"And I'm telling you Lt. that there's nothing to worry about"

And that's when the call was made that  _no one_  wanted to hear

"Torpedoes in the water!"

"Blast it!"

Sara suddenly leaves her post without permission, or so the watch commander thought, he didn't know that being the only person trained in every aspect of the military she had orders that if her ship, base or plane was ever under attack she had special permission to act as she saw fit in the defense of her post. At that moment right there she knew that her powers would probably save the ship from being hit but that it would take too much energy to do so and reveal her powers, which she believed was too dangerous at the moment. Instead she had a different idea, launch some decoy torpedoes and hope that they worked because if they didn't she was going to have to come up with a plan B. She ran to where the torpedoes were kept and gave the launch code which launched the torpedoes, the captain got on the phone to the torpedo room to ask about the launching of said torpedoes

"Sir this is Lt. Kerenai hopefully the real torpedoes heading towards us hit the duds and keep this ship safe because if not we're gonna have to come of with a plan B real fast and even I can't make a plan that fast...yes sir I did...yes sir...I understand sir...will do sir...yes sir...bye"

She hangs up the phone and simply stands there as if waiting for something that only she and the captain knew about. Two minutes later the enemy actually managed to breach their defenses and come on board the ship forcing everyone to go hand to hand if they were close enough and if they were actually far enough others used their service pistols or even a few rifles depending on the distance and location. In the torpedo room the enemy was acting pretty smart in Kerenai's mind but also very stupid not knowing the enemy, the entire crew started fighting hand to hand knowing better then to fire weapons in such a sensitive area. They actually capture Sara after several minutes of fighting and everyone stopped because that meant that there was no other choice but to surrender for the moment. But Sara had a different idea

(Thinking) " _I'm gonna have to use_ that  _fighting style if I want to get the drop on these guys_ " (mental sigh) " _great and I was hoping to avoid using this fighting style because it singles me out oh well it is what it is_ "

Suddenly Sara was fast and using a very different fighting style from what everyone there recognized as the standard hand to hand combat training. She was also a lot faster then they had ever seen her move which was a surprise to everyone except the enemy

"Kerenai...so you've been stationed on this ship, tell me why didn't you try to prevent the hull breach?"

"I knew it would be pointless so I decided to forgo that, instead I'll just take you out and everyone else with my powers seeing as how I have no other choice. Arranyan ribbon strike"

Suddenly ribbons just appeared out of no where's and started attacking the enemy. All over the ship Sara used her powers and changed the attack depending on the location eventually making her way to the bridge. When she got there she saw carnage and took out the enemy that had the captain of the ship captive but by that point it was too late, the captain was mortally wounded and he knew it

"Kerenai...you must...take charge...of the...ship"

"Stop talking captain you'll be fine I promise, we'll get you help"

"No...you're not...listening...I'm...already...dead...wounds...too...serious"

"But I..."

"Promise...me"

"But..."

" _Promise_..."

"I...promise, I will take care of the ship and it's remaining crew, I'll get them home safely no matter what"

"Thank...you...Ker..."

The captain dies before he could finish his sentence. She sets his body down and salutes him

"Goodbye captain you'll be missed"

She then makes a ship wide announcement

"Attention all personnel, we have just lost the captain. Per his orders I am now in charge of this ship and will take it back home to safety. Once I inform the rest of the fleet and our commanding officer of the situation we will be heading back to Pearl Harbor" (sighs) "in the meantime I want a head count to see who's alive and who's dead, everyone will be working double shifts to cover those we've lost today, once that's done I want everyone who was off duty to be put on duty immediately and those that were on duty to go back to your posts unless already taken. If that is the case you're on weapons detail, pilots I want you up in the air in no less then fifteen minutes barring any pilots who are dead, too badly injured or no longer have a plane due to damage incurred in the battle"

Two hours later everything was settled and the ship was headed back to Pearl Harbor for repairs and a new crew once that was done. While they headed back Sara used her shields to protect the ship from any further damage while the rest of the crew did maintenance and protection duty so as to also prevent another attack

_An hour after the attack finished_

"Mr. President this is Lt. Kerenai we need to talk...there's been an attack on the ship...the captain's dead and he's placed me in charge of the ship...I have pilots on patrol to make sure we're safe...no not until we're underway it's just too dangerous right now...yes sir we're going to head there once it's safe to do so...yes sir I understand...yes sir...yes sir...I understand sir...will do sir...bye"

She hangs up the phone and just sighs, once she gets up again she heads back to the bridge and asks about when they could sail back to Pearl Harbor and got a good answer

"Alright seeing as how everything seems under control I'll be in the captain's office doing paperwork. If no one sees me in the mess hall after five hours anyone has permission to interrupt me so I can get food no matter if enlisted or an officer. After that if I don't have sleep twelve hours after eating and no one sees me heading to my quarters for sleep the same rule applies anyone who notices that has permission to force me to my rack, pass that on to the rest of the crew so that they know. Another thing due to how crazy this whole situation has been we won't be following normal operating procedures in regards to the ranks"

"What do you mean sir?"

"Simple we're already doing it with me as a Lt. leading the entire crew. As such I am putting a temporary suspension on normal ranking procedures so that we can all look out for one another, no one rank is better then the other until we get back to port. If a pilot is seen pushing too hard that pilot is grounded, if I am seen pushing too hard I am put under orders to rest and stay in my quarters. Basically anyone of any rank is allowed to temporarily ground another if it's noticed that soldier is harming themselves in any way"

"Understood sir, we'll also make sure this information gets out to the rest of the crew, but Lt. I'm wondering how you're going to deal with the shortage of pilots"

(Sighs) "I was wondering about that myself actually and I think I have a solution, recently there's been a new procedure that everyone of a certain rank is to become a reserve pilot correct?"

"That's right, they have to keep their qualifications up on a yearly bases but they're not to be acting as a pilot except in an emergency situation...which this counts as one doesn't it, okay I'll see to it that a ship wide e-mail is sent out so that the reserve pilots are on alert for when they have to take over for the other pilots"

"Okay, well back to paperwork for me, you have the bridge Sergeant"

"Aye sir I have the bridge"

_Present time_


	13. Chapter 13

"We're almost home sir, we should be in port by tomorrow after which the ship will be taken to dry dock for repairs"

"Good the journey home has been nerve wracking to be honest"

"Can some of the troops stand down now that we're almost home?"

"No, we're on full alert until we reach American waters and that's final"

"But you've had everyone on high alert since the battle and it's really starting to show"

(Sighs) "I know but if we don't keep up our alert who knows what could happen"

"What do you mean?"

"Simple, until I know we're in friendly waters I consider us in enemy territory"

"Yeah well Japan attacked our home turf"

"And nothing has happened since, so cool your jets will ya the only enemies that might attack now are the Quintessons and right now they're a bit busy"

"Doing what?"

"Fighting the rest of the American forces and the EDC so that they don't take over earth again"

"Look can we at least stand down those that have been on duty since last night?"

"Fine we can do that"

The next day they finally manage to reach Pearl Harbor and everyone is in shock at just how bad the ship was damaged. The news had also somehow found out about the number of deaths and the fact that a Lt. was now in charge of the crew until everyone was off the ship so reporters were flocking the dock wanting to catch a glimpse at the young commanding officer

"Uh sir what are we going to do about the reporters?"

"I have absolutely  _no_ idea we can't legally force them away from the dock but I also don't want to deal with the news right now"

They think for a minute and then a pilot speaks up

"Wait I think I have an idea, we're the same rank right sir?"

"What of it?"

"Maybe we can actually do this then by switching nameplates"

"Won't work Carson"

"Why not?"

"They know the commanding officer is female"

"Well are there any female Lt.'s available?"

As it turned out there were none

"So how do we sneak the Lt. off without the news reporters getting to her?"

That's when an Ensign speaks up

"I could trade places with her"

"Ensign Raken are you sure?"

"I'm sure I can even act the part too"

"How?"

"My father, he's a fire chief in my home town and instilled that kind of discipline in each of his kids"

"That should work then and since you've been by my side since practically the beginning after I failed to take care of myself that first day you could even sound convincing"

"Exactly sir, that's what I'm hoping for"

With a quick exchange of the shirts and caps the two officers officially switched ranks and it actually worked, the news fell for the fake Lt. while the real Lt. escaped under the guise of an Ensign

"Lt. what are you doing as an Ensign?"

"Ensign Raken covered for me so I could escape the reporters undetected"

"That's not going to fool them for very long"

"Maybe but it should fool them long enough for me to be able to get out of here and to another safe location on the island"

"True enough, it will also buy you some time to get some actual rest, because even though you gave those special orders no one could really get any sleep could they?"

"Not from what I could tell, we've all earned some shore leave this time"

"Don't worry that's been assured by people from high up so everyone will be getting rest before being reassigned a new duty station, that ship will be in dry dock for at least two months according to reports given to us by some people"

"More like three months, there's some hidden damage deep within the ship that happened during the second stage of the attack. We minimized what we could but...well you know what I mean"

"Unfortunately I know all too clearly what you mean"

"We all wrote up reports as we saw the damage and the dock workers should have those by tonight so they can do a proper assessment to be able to do their jobs"

"And if people still insist on sailing that ship in two months?"

"I'll pull a President and ground that ship until I deem it safe"

"Wait the President has that kind of authority?"

"Yes, when it concerns the safety of his troops he has that authority and due to who I am I also have that authority given to me by congress"

"It's members of congress that want that ship back out in two months"

"Not happening"

"Except you don't have any pull with congress and the congress can always outvote the President and you know it Kerenai"

"Oh I have my ways"

"Just like you Kerenai"

Two hours later Sara was showered and fed in a safe house that her family had made for just such an occasion, where an EDC officer needed to get away from the news or an enemy after them. They knew that it wasn't always possible to keep people safe but at least this location was the least well known and gave people the chance to regroup and make a plan if that was what was needed

"Okay give them another day then I will go outside and be seen in Hawaii, they'd have to know by now that Ensign Raken isn't me and will be looking for me"

And she was right fifteen minutes after Kerenai made her escape the news figured out that Raken wasn't the real Lt. Kerenai that they were looking for and started their search but Sara was well on her way to the safe house by then so they missed her. The next day Sara was seen walking around in uniform because she was headed back to Pearl Harbor to arrange a flight home if possible after having met up with the Ensign and switching uniform shirts and caps back to normal. The news quickly noticed it was her and finally got their real interview, and the last question was one everyone was wondering but no one was willing to ask

"Why did you switch yourself with an Ensign when all you had to tell us was no comment or that you would allow an interview later?"

"Simple, because we had just come from a very hard situation and I know for a fact that news people just simply don't give up on good military stories with a no or a later. The Ensign volunteered to switch places with me having been by my side since practically the beginning of the situation"

"And now you've had a chance to slightly regroup and give us proper answers to some questions"

"Exactly"

The interviews finally ended and Sara went to the base to arrange a plane home which wouldn't happen for another two days

"The only way you could go home sooner is on a civilian flight as you well know"

"I know but for now I want military transport, it's the best way to avoid the news right now"

"Such as your interview just a few minutes ago?"

"Exactly I heard that they're just as bad on the mainland and I don't need that kind of attention right now. I only gave them just enough to leave me alone for a day or two and that's what the military has allowed me to say, you know there's more to the story"

"As do they no doubt"

"Exactly which is why I need military transport when they find out I haven't given them anything but the bare basics"

"Well you have a flight in two days and of course you can stay on base in the temporary housing if you need it"

"Yeah I'll take you guys up on that offer thanks"

For the next two days Sara only did light training seeing as how she was recovering from a hidden injury that only she knew about. She had gotten the injury using one of her special attacks with her powers and had been healing great but still needed a few more days of recovery to fully go at it, of course no one recognized what she was doing as light training since no one had ever really seen her go all out in training before. Finally though she got the ride home she had been promised and actually made it back to her actual home no problems due to the fact that she  _had_  used military transport and at the moment news crews were not allowed on military bases due to a situation that had arisen hours after the Ensign gave the false interview


	14. Chapter 14

*Sara we weren't expecting you for another few days while the whole news situation winds down*

*Caught an earlier flight home Galvatron how's everyone been since they received the news about the attack on my ship?*

*A bit tense waiting to hear you're back on American soil, once we received that news everyone relaxed knowing you were safe. Though honestly did you have to force that Ensign to pretend she was you?*

*Hey she volunteered, we were thinking of ways for me to avoid them when the Ensign volunteered to be me when we first had that idea. Actually she volunteered before we got any other ideas out there*

*So how long will you be home?*

*At least another month we'll have a reevaluation after that*

*We heard that the ship that you brought home will be out again in two months*

(Snorts) *I don't think so, if Congress tries to pull that off I have some strings I can pull that doesn't involve the family*

*Do I even want to know?*

*Probably not in case you're ever asked if you knew what I was planning beforehand*

*Fine but if you do something stupid because you didn't ask for help don't blame us*

*Don't worry I won't blame you guys and to be honest if something does go wrong in regards to Congress it's probably best you guys don't know what's going on so that you can offer to help fix the problem and none of them will be able to claim you did this for me*

Over the next month things settled down a bit and it was decided that everyone except Sara would be put onto other ships, Sara was ordered to stay on land until final word was given in regards to if Congress would send the damaged ship back out before it was fully repaired. But while they were waiting it was decided Sara would be the weapons instructor at the nearest base until they had final confirmation of when the ship would sail again

"...and that's the basic safety rules you have to follow whenever you're on range. Okay then we're now going to the range for some live fire shooting follow the rules and there won't be any problems"

She sees a Petty Officer come over with an envelope, when handed the envelope she reads the contents and then simply nods dismissing the Petty Officer

"Okay Instructor Parson will finish you're training for today I have other places I need to be right now"

She then goes to her car and drives to where Congress was finishing debates on whether or not to send the  _USS AVENGER_ back out to sea after two months and not completely sure if it was in good repair

"...and in regards to the  _USS AVENGER_  and if it should be allowed to sail again starting tomorrow, all opposed say aye"

They only heard one voice

"Aye"

"And those for?"

The rest of congress agreed to send the  _Avenger_  out the next day though they did ask who opposed sending the ship out after two months in dry dock

"That would be me Mr. Speaker, Lt. Sara Kerenai that ship isn't nearly ready to be shipped out, the damage is just too severe"

"The ship is fine you only think it's too severe Kerenai"

"Yeah right I was on that ship when it was attacked and trust me there is no way that ship can be properly repaired in only two months"

"And if we still insist on sending it out tomorrow after you finish your arguments?"

"Oh you'll keep it in dry dock, if you don't I will reveal to the world that you are risking American lives just to get a ship back out to sea so that the repairs can stop costing you money"

"You wouldn't dare"

"Just try me and you'll find out"

"And just when would you have the chance to do so when we're putting a gag order on the whole thing? And of course you know what a gag order means don't you?"

Sara just grits her teeth knowing that they had her in one aspect but there was a backup plan that needed to be finalized with the President before evening

"I understand  _sir_  and I will comply"

She turns and leaves the building while other things are discussed and heads to the White House. Once inside the Oval Office she gets down to business finalizing plans to keep the Avenger out of the sea until full repairs are done because Sara had done an inspection on her day off just two days before trying to stop Congress from sending the ship out and she had seen that the ship was still in need of major repairs there was simply no way that ship could sail in less then twenty-four hours

"So that's it then, how long should I wait to hear from you since this is considered a black ops operation and you are working under radio silence?"

"Five hours, if you don't hear from me within five hours of hearing the explosion consider me MIA until you have confirmed my death, though of course after a certain amount of time you will have to consider me killed anyways but still..."

"I understand, very well five hours not a second more and don't worry if congress gives you any problems you can always tell them you were under Presidential order which you were. That should quiet them real fast"

"No kidding, well then best leave to prepare for my mission"

"Agreed I say operation Night Fight is a go"

That night Sara was in complete black seeing as how she had to hide as much as possible when bombing the Avenger, she was to partially sink the ship if it was in the water and do major damage to the hull if it was still in dry dock. Avenger turned out to be in dry dock so Sara managed to put the bombs in strategic places and set the timers for fifteen minutes which would give her enough time to get out of the area but she was stopped by specially hired guards

"I do  _not_  have time for you guys"

"Well Congress told us to keep this ship under guard until it's back in the water tomorrow"

"I see, they would go that far to make sure that they no longer have to pay for repairs to a sick ship that is not sea worthy"

She presses the detonator and then heads back to the ship planning on swimming to safety

"Come with us or we will be forced to shoot"

"Sorry, oh and you have about twelve minutes before the bombs go off so I would get out of here if I were you"

"Sorry but you're coming with us"

"You'll have to kill me before I come with you"

"You made your choice, I hope your body can be found within a reasonable time"

She's shot and goes into the water while the guards heed her warning and leave the area. Thirty minutes later Sara was on the other side of the river

"Man I am injured and could die from my injuries but Congress would hear about this if I go to the hospital, as will the police. Okay then no hospital and I think it might be best if the President doesn't hear from me either, I didn't mention it earlier but I think there's a spy in the White House and thus if I call the President or even go to him in person that spy will tell Congress about how I might have sounded and also if I go in person how I looked, though this will hurt my family"

At the White House when the five hour mark passed the President had no choice but to declare Sara MIA and inform her family, he decided to start with Mark since Mark was too far away to do anything about it and wouldn't find out any other way

"Mark Kerenai this is the President...your sister has just been declared MIA by me personally...I assigned her a special mission with a five hour deadline after hearing a certain sound...yes I will inform your superior that you're being given emergency leave for the funeral just give me a few days...understood Major Kerenai...you too and again sorry for your loss..goodbye"

The President then informed Sara's robotic family about what had happened, he didn't go into details over the phone because while he never suspected he had a spy and knew his phone lines were secure he also knew that the enormity of the mission and the loss because of said mission wasn't really conducive to explaining what exactly had happened over the phone


	15. Chapter 15

"...I will most certainly do that Galvatron just let me know who's coming and I'll prep my team for your arrival...sorry but that isn't going to happen right now...three words for you UN" (United Nations) "General Council...exactly it's almost time for the yearly meeting and I have  _way_  to much to do leading up to that meeting for me to leave the White House this year...okay I will tell my team and they will be ready for them tomorrow"

Meanwhile Sara was in a Safe House that not even her family knew of healing from her injuries. Since each bullet wound was a through and through she didn't have to worry about removing a bullet from the wound all she had to worry about was proper wound care

"Once I am healed I will join the DCPD until I know for certain that there is no spy for Congress in the White House I just wish I didn't have to put my family through what they are going to be dealing with until I can come back"

Three months later there was a special ceremony commemorating the  _USS AVENGER_  being allowed to go back out to sea with a mixture of both a new and old crew. Before the ship was even allowed to test if it would float again minibots and special government inspectors not on the payroll of Congress checked the ship inside and out to make sure that every little dent was fixed properly

"I know that not everyone knows who Lt. Kerenai is and what she did for this ship but it was decided by the ship's captain that the shakedown cruise is in honor of Lt. Kerenai who is currently Missing In Action after a specially assigned mission by the President of the United States. No one really knows what that mission was but from what those that served with her on board this ship have been told it was successful. We hope she can be found safe and alive and she will have a place on this ship when she comes back, Lt. Kerenai if you can hear us come home soon you're greatly missed"

Then Mark stood up with a champagne bottle to break over the bow

"I never really got to know my sister Lt. Sara Kerenai, three years before she was born I was declared KIA when in reality I was alive and amnesic. By the time I regained my memories the war for earth's freedom was going on and I couldn't let anyone know the truth, after the war I told the government everything and was told that until she turned Eighteen I wasn't allowed to meet her unless it was as a commanding officer. After she escaped capture and made it to a Canadian base I was allowed to confirm it was her. After we got back to base I told her the truth, sadly she was severely ill with an infection soon after. Once she was transferred to Germany I never saw her again except over video chat due to how intense her training was and how often I was deployed. At the same time when I heard the mission that has made her disappear I couldn't have been prouder. Sara if you can hear this this one's for you"

He breaks the bottle over the bow and the ship sets out on it's shakedown cruise no one knowing that Sara had indeed been at the shakedown cruise ceremony very pleased with herself knowing that they would be perfectly fine unless there were bugs that would naturally be found. She also knew that they would be perfectly fine even with the bugs that would be found because her family was going to be keeping a close eye on the ship

"Don't worry guys I should be able to come home soon I just need to confirm a few more things before I reveal myself"

That night an emergency meeting of Congress came together to discuss several things that had been happening over the past several months and more recently the past three months when the ship that was to sail again suddenly wasn't able to be put into the water. The President was also there not for impeachment or anything like that but since Sara Kerenai had disappeared right after that mysterious night they figured he would also want some answers and answers they got. It turned out that not all of Congress had wanted the  _Avenger_  to be put back on active duty after only two months because after having seen the damage the ship had taken in the initial attack they realized it would take at  _least_  three months for all of the damage to be taken care of both outside and in. When the bombing was discovered no one knew who had done it but they knew it was a good thing because that meant the ship would be properly prepared. However there were a few influential members of Congress who had pull and could decide that the ship would sail after only two months in dry dock. When everything was discovered about the ship the smart members of Congress were not happy, and that's when another surprise happened for the President

"Oh and by the way Mr. President we've had a spy in your office for a long time now so that we would know what moves to take to either help or stop you"

"It was you? You were the ones who forced me to assign Lt. Kerenai the mission to bomb the ship she served on to keep it in dry dock? It was you who forced Kerenai to hide herself if she's still alive? For what? Power? I don't think so reveal the spy now and you  _might_  get lucky in a court of law after you've been dismissed from this Congress"

The spy revealed themselves to be a low level office worker

"I've been trying to figure out why Kerenai met with you that day and I guess now I know, just so you know we heard from our security guards that they shot an intruder who told them they put bombs on the ship. When the intruder was shot they landed in the water while the guards left not wanting to die, if the intruder was Kerenai she's officially dead then because no one could have survived the injuries she endured at the hands of the guards"

That's when another twist revealed themselves, one Lt. Sara Kerenai alive and well

"That's what you think you creep!"

Everyone turns at that voice to see Sara in the back at the doors

"Kerenai you're okay, why didn't you call me within the deadline?"

"Sorry Mr. President but I suspected there was a spy so I couldn't reveal that I was alive lest the traitors also found out about it. I must admit they were very tricky hiding the whole thing from everyone for so long but there's more. I've been doing some private investigations and have found out they've done more than just try to force the  _Avenger_  to sail too soon, I have a list right here of all the bribes they've taken that would have risked national security if not for some very advanced procedures set up by me before I was a POW for so long"

The said traitors brought out guns that were not supposed to be on their person and aimed at the President and also Kerenai

"Die Kerenai and Mr. President"

"No you don't! Arranyan shields full deflection!"

Suddenly it was as if the President and Kerenai were surrounded by an invisible wall that was deflecting every single bullet into the floor, though while Sara was walking forwards one hit the end of the isle but only at the very bottom of said isle. Due to the fact that Sara had been born with those powers and said powers had erupted at the age of four she realized that she needed a way to control the powers and also make sure that no one innocent was hurt. So during training she developed her powers to be a part of her conscious. Basically whatever she declared as friendly wouldn't get hurt and her powers would adapt themselves to insure that, and with the shields they developed a means to deflect any bullet into the ground immediately thus making said bullet harmless

"Arranyan ribbon strike!"

She maneuvered the ribbon to grab the guns and jerked real hard on the ribbon forcing the Senators and Representatives to lose their grips on their weapons

"Now then I do believe the Secret Service and I have the power to arrest you guys which is exactly what I'm going to do and then I will serve aboard the  _Avenger_  like I should have before this whole mess happened to me"

"Oh really, do you by any chance remember say...Japan before you went missing?"

"You wouldn't dare"

"Try us and you'll find out"

The President breaks in the conversation confused

"Japan?"

(Sighs) "I guess you should know, yes Japan you see when I was fourteen I was told I would be going to Japan to learn a bit more about the culture in the actual country and also learn how they do investigations so that I understood how things differ in other countries in regards to the police system. I was only allowed to go because of these creeps and reminded of my international citizenship because of who raised me. The problem is that I only have that special citizenship because of who raised me and Congress can take it away at any time, it appears these guys have leverage over someone who can take away that ability in Japan if we actually go through with arresting them"

She then thinks back to when she was fourteen and about to go home


	16. Chapter 16

_Fourteen year old Kerenai_

Sara was tired and yet at the same time elated because she had finally solved a major case and was waiting at the location of the final murder before anything happened and yes she did have a warrant to enter the premises

*I figured you out and knew you would come here to finish the job, too bad for you that there were enough clues for me to solve the case. I now place you under arrest for the murder of Hoshi Nakazuma, Iruka Matanuri, and officer Noru Akamuto...or at least that's what I would  _like_  to say but someone else has that right having come here sooner than me*

The Japanese police detectives waiting in the shadows finalized the arrests and thanked Sara for all her help in catching the criminals

*Thank you Kerenai-san for all your help in finding these criminals we hope you have a safe flight back to America*

*You're welcome I'm just glad I was able to help*

_Present_

"And that's basically the story I actually still keep in contact with those officers now that I am free and able to talk to them again. But still they do have something major over my head Mr. President and not much you can do about it either"

"And if only the Secret Service arrests you guys for attacking me?"

"We still carry out our threat because you assigned her the mission that scuttled the ship for another three months and then made sure her family was the one who did the inspection on the ship instead of our chosen inspectors who were also in on getting the ship out to sea before it was truly ready"

The groups were officially at a stalemate because of the blackmail that was going on in the room at that very moment, what no one knew was that FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations) agents had also been getting very suspicious about Congress members and had been doing their own investigating and no one told them to do so. They had been waiting in the back of the room waiting to see if Kerenai and the Secret Service could handle it but once they knew that there was simply too much blackmail on the both of them the lead case agent took over

"I don't think so FBI! I am placing you guys under arrest oh and you can't use blackmail on us because of the fact that we did the investigations on our own when we saw you guys with known cartel and mafia members. The reason we didn't make our presence noticed sooner was that we figured Kerenai and the Secret Service could handle you creeps, until you blackmailed them that is"

"Though I doubt you've discovered what I have in your investigations and if they still want to try and go through with their threat you can't use my stuff"

They look over Sara's research and just snorts

"Only you would make the connection between the meetings we saw and national security a month before we did, don't worry we found out all of this on our own two weeks ago"

"Good then they're all yours agent"

That's when it's noticed that Sara's breathing was becoming more labored by the minute

"Remember that cut Kerenai? I guess you never thought about poisons before did you?"

"You...creeps...you know...about my...allergies"

While she was saying that she gave herself the epi-pen shot that would help save her life and the nearest agent asked what poison was used

"Bluebottle venom she's highly allergic to those fish at least the venom part of it and we've used that to our advantage we didn't realize she still had her epi-pen on her though"

The paramedics rush Kerenai to the hospital and told what caused her anaphylactic shock, the hospital also learned exactly what else she was allergic to just so that while she was staying she wouldn't be put in another situation like before

"She's going to be fine, we'll keep her overnight at the very least and see how she's doing in the morning"

"When can we visit her?"

"Not until tomorrow you're not family and she's still sleeping, considering all the drugs we gave her and how severe her reaction is it's not surprising"

"Okay we'll talk to her tomorrow then, oh but the FBI  _will_  be posting guards outside her door, she was already attacked once because of something she knows we don't need her attacked again"

"Agreed, we'll allow it"

The next day she was released with strict instructions to take it easy the next few days

"Okay I will"

Once outside she asks a very important question

"So has my family been told I'm alive?"

"Yes they have and your robotic family has a few people here for other business who would love to see you again"

"Excellent and Mark?"

"Sorry he's on assignment right now and also out in the field we can't contact him yet"

"I understand, military duty is military duty"

She then sees exactly who was there that day and decided to speak Cybertronian seeing as how she hadn't been able to for three solid months while in hiding

*Hi Prowl, Barricade is it only the two of you?*

*Well there are a few others but they're helping the American military right now while we're helping the local police*

*What's happened?*

*Quintesson threat and seeing as how we take all of those threats serious...*

*I get it, until you hear otherwise you're on high alert in Washington DC*

*Exactly, when did you get back?*

*Not too long ago myself, I was always alive but in hiding due to...issues*

*Understood we're already alerting the Primes and Galvatron to the fact that you're alive*

Suddenly though an alert goes out and Sara recognizes the threat

"Looks like the threat was real, agents you know your jobs right? Well Prowl, Barricade and I will buy you guys some time to evacuate the civilians"

She then starts shooting the enemy with her weapons when suddenly she holsters the gun but with good reason

"Okay enough of this shoot and take one down Arranyan Shockwave!"

Sara claps her hands together and then opens them creating a shock-wave effect that did severe damage to the Quintessons

"Got anything else Sara because we're almost out"

"Not really guys not if you want me still conscious in the next five minutes"

They were all thinking of how to fight the Quintessons when suddenly they were joined by the National Guard and EDC giving the group some desperately needed backup

"Excellent timing guys, got any ammo I can use?"

"Go right on ahead Lt. Kerenai we've got your back while you reload, the EDC has some stuff for your family too"

"Okay I'll be ready in no more than three minutes"

She looks inside and sees exactly what she needed in terms of supplies needed in the defense of the city

"Excellent I could use these and I actually have need of several of these items"

Two minutes later Sara popped back out and lobbed a grenade at the Quintessons

"Take that you creeps!"

She starting shooting the enemy again and would have continued staying out in the open when the tank driver was actually taken out with a Quintessonian weapon. When that happened she simply hopped into the tank and took over driving operations while everyone else in the tank continued their jobs. Eventually though the Quintessons finally retreated to wherever they went when they were soundly defeated by the Cybertronians

"Well we shouldn't see them for a while"

"Agreed, oh and don't worry Sara some of us are going over to the Middle East and we'll tell Mark that you're alive and okay"

"Sure Prowl, oh just be mindful of the fact that since I have been missing for three months and only just revealed myself to be alive yesterday not many people know the truth until the press conference tonight so don't tell that many people until then"

"Don't worry we won't, we know how important it is to keep you being alive a secret just a little longer"

"Well I have to ask the National Guard if they want the ammo I didn't use back, heck I might give some back anyways due to how much I grabbed"


	17. Chapter 17

It turned out that they wanted all but two magazines back understanding why she had grabbed as much ammo and grenades as she had but since she didn't need them anymore and they did, well they wanted their supplies back

"Okay here's everything you guys asked for, and don't worry if I don't use them before I get some new ones or am transferred back to the Navy I'll give back these two magazines as well"

"Don't bother you never know when you'll need ammo so keep them and that's an order Lt."

"Yes sir"

"So tonight is the night correct?"

"Yes sir, and by the way I understand that you immediately recognized me but could you impart to your men how important it is not to mention me until after the press conference where everything will be revealed to the public?"

"Sure I can Lt. just so I am not too shocked is there anything I absolutely need to know to keep things down to a dull roar?"

"Sorry but everything on the news is classified until tonight, though I should warn you that from what I saw you  _might_  have your hands full explaining a few new security measures to your men"

"Understood so only answers are tonight and I will explain the security measures as best I can before the news so that they don't go overboard...I hope"

"Right, oh and just so you know I'll be close to the Marine Barracks so just watch yourselves whenever you head back because if I catch anyone near there being stupid I'm not making any promises"

"Just how dangerous are you?"

"Considering I was one of the resistance fighters for the fight for earth's freedom and then a POW for three years I would say very dangerous"

"Got it we'll be careful in fact I might just keep everyone at base until after the news announcement"

That night the press conference started with the President saying a few things about the Quintesson attack that afternoon and what was currently being done to prevent further attacks both in the capital and in other places in the country. Once that was finished he dropped a bomb shell on the national and international world alike

"...furthermore Sara Kerenai missing for three months is actually alive, having hidden due to traitors in Congress that have been taken care of earlier today due to an FBI investigation on them, Lt. Kerenai come on out"

Sara comes out of the White House and is immediately bombarded with questions which she silenced with a simple gesture of putting her right hand up

"Okay I know everyone has questions and I will answer them after I tell my story. Three months ago I was told that a Congressional meeting was going to take place to see whether or not the  _USS AVENGER_ would set sail again after only two months in dry dock whether it was ready or not. Congress did indeed decide to send it out even though it still needed repairs, due to influential members which have since been arrested, even though I protested. After the meeting I met with the President was sent on a special assignment to bomb the  _Avenger_  to keep it in dry dock until it was properly repaired, yes guys if you are watching this that was me that night, sorry it kept you from the ship longer than you should have been. As I was saying that night I was the solo person assigned to operation Night Fight, I went to the dock and placed bombs in strategic places so as to keep people from sending the boat back into the sea before it was ready. However I was shot several times in the chest and fell into the water making the guards bribed into guarding the ship that night think I was dead. I made it over to the other side of the river and spent a few days recovering from the gunshot wounds and then investigated Congress to find out exactly what was happening and why. I never knew the FBI was doing the investigation, however before that I was given a five hour deadline to report into the President regarding my survival but that never happened. It turned out my suspicions about a spy in the White House proved correct and kept me alive long enough to reveal myself three months later. I am sorry I deceived everyone for so long but it was necessary"

She then starts answering the questions that reporters felt still needed to be asked when suddenly she forced the President back into the White House and while in there had a very short conversation

"Okay I'm going to go out there and take the enemy down"

"I forbid it Kerenai we just got you back I don't want you to end up in the hospital so soon"

"Sorry Mr. President but that's impossible this time, and unfortunately there are only two ways this fight will end. I will either die or use up so much of my strength I will be amnesic, if you find me alive but amnesic tell my family I'm alive but let the rest of the world believe I am dead and if I die for real well...it is what it is"

"Lt. I am giving you an order from your President"

"And I'm countermanding that order under a different Executive Order I have that authority and no you can't have a Finding with that order"

(Sighs) "I guess all I can say then is good luck and I hope we find you in the rare situation of alive and memory intact"

"Sir that possibility is so low on the pecking order that if it does happen I'll be as shocked as you"

Sara leaves the safety of the White House and starts fighting what turns out to be Quintessons, thanks to the flood lighting of the White House garden for the news stations everyone watching TV at that time watched Sara battle the enemy using both standard equipment borrowed from the Secret Service and also her powers. Eventually though there is a huge explosion and when the smoke clears there's no sign of Sara any where's

"No...we've lost her again all so that she could protect me"

"And on live television as well, her family and the military will understand, maybe some police officers but the normal civilians? I think we're going to have to do some major damage control"

"First we take care of anyone injured in the battle, then we'll take care of damage control"

"Oh man the EDC is going to be  _ticked_  about the situation, not because we promised she would be safe at the White House but because they couldn't scramble in time to help deal with the Quintesson threat"

"We'll deal with that when the time comes, now then do as I say and make sure everyone who needs medical attention is getting exactly that"

"Sir, when will we look for Lt. Kerenai's body?"

(Sighs) "for now we leave that to the metro police, once they confirm or deny that she's really alive and with her memory intact we'll inform the public that we were wrong in declaring her dead"

"Considering that explosion no one will blame us if we declare her dead now and retract the statement later saying we were in error of our earlier assumption"

Once the news people were taken care of the President was asked the question they knew was coming

"Is Lt. Kerenai alive Mr. President?"

"We don't know therefor until we have proof otherwise we have no choice but to declare her dead"

"But her family..."

"Will understand why we've made that decision without their permission, everyone saw what happened tonight it was on national  _and_  international television"

"But to declare her dead without any real proof is just..."

"I know it seems cruel to do so but in situations like this it's better to declare her dead now. I will recant this earlier statement if it is proven that I have made the declaration of her death in error"

The police in the meantime would indeed find Sara but with no ID and little clothing left on her she was admitted to the hospital as a Jane Doe

"So you have no idea who they are?"

"No, we also don't know what could have caused those injuries I'm seeing"

A rookie cop taking his place on rotation to guard Sara in case she was someone dangerous or someone who needed protected came up and answered the senior officer

"I do, those are blast injuries aren't they?"

"We're honestly not sure though they could be, how do you know about blast injuries anyways officer?"

"Was a Marine up until a few months ago I saw plenty of blast injuries for myself so I know what they look like on the person and in x-rays due to having a few myself, fortunately they were never too severe to retire me medically or keep me from being a police officer but still"

"Okay well it's your turn to protect this person so be on alert"

"Why do we have to protect a Jane Doe again?"

"Due to how recent Sara Kerenai went missing protecting the President due to how closely she resembles that person we have to protect her, though according to the Secret Service even if we find out it's her through prints and she's amnesic she's requested to be declared dead to all but her family"

"What for?"

"I don't know for sure but it might be for everyone's protection, we can only hope that once Lt. Kerenai is found her memory is intact but if it's not then she'll have to be declared dead per her wishes"

Two hours after the rookie started his shift they got confirmation that it was Sara Kerenai he was protecting but they didn't know anything else, thirty minutes after that Sara woke up

"Who are you?"

"I'm officer Anderson, do you know who you are?"

"I...I am...I don't remember officer, I don't remember"

"It's okay, we'll try and figure it out, in the meantime you have to calm down so you don't aggravate your injuries"

The nurse had come in hearing the alarms and quickly alerted the doctor that she was awake. After a few tests it was determined that she did indeed have amnesia, and while she knew enough to be able to take care of herself and get a job they would have to wait until she was better before they could determine if she would ever regain her memories

"Doctor what could have caused my memory loss?"

"Most likely whatever caused your injuries made you hit your head hard enough for memory loss but I can't be sure until you start healing a little more, that means you'll be in the hospital for a bit young lady though I don't know about your little guardian"

"I'm not sure either doctor I have to call my superiors and update them on the situation"

The rookie finds out that he was no longer on guard duty seeing as how Sara was amnesic and they didn't want her to get suspicious, finally though she had healed and actually went back to the Navy under a different name provided to her by the government

"Lt. Folgerson you have new orders"

Sara looks at her orders and sees she's been accepted in SEAL training. Once she goes she flies trough the training like it was nothing still not realizing that she was in reality Lt. Sara Kerenai. Her time in the SEAL's was watched by the new President having been told about her by the previous President, but only so that he could help her if she regained her memories during his time in the White House. Two years after Sara had joined the SEAL's as Lt. Folgerson Sara was actually in the White House for a unit ceremony, her unit had earned on a sanctioned mission that could be made public immediately after or if necessary during the mission. Her team had at the request of the North Korean government helped them take out several terrorists that had alien backing trying to take over the government and they were now being honored for their role in preventing the coup

"And so I hear by present this unit this honor"

Once the formal ceremonies were over with for the moment Sara was allowed to wonder around the White House garden naturally being watched by the Secret Service. She eventually made it to the plaque honoring her actions the night she lost her memories

"This is where Lt. Sara Kerenai made her last stand in defense of the President against the Quintesson invasion xx/xx/20xx...thank you Lt. Kerenai because of you the nation was safe from the chaos of transitioning from the President to the Vice President taking over"

She touches the plaque and more specifically the Cybertronian symbol when suddenly while tracing the symbol she freezes in her track. She remembered being told that Lt. Kerenai had been killed that night after the explosion but suddenly she suspected that wasn't the case. She hadn't told anyone but lately she had been getting strange nightmares that really interrupted a good nights sleep, and seeing this plaque made the whole thing click into place


	18. Chapter 18

"Oh man...I remember now, I used a very powerful attack and the Quintessons used an attack at the same time and there was an explosion. I lost my memories like I predicted, well best tell the new President and then get the proper paperwork done to change my identity from this one to my proper name it's going to be a pain but oh well"

She goes back into the White House and request a meeting with the President regarding an important matter about a missing soldier, once they were in the Oval Office the President just looked at her

"All right Lt. Folgerson what is the matter that you need to talk to me about regarding one of  _my_  soldiers gone missing?"

"Easy sir, Lt. Kerenai reporting in after recovering from amnesia"

She said that while saluting the President

"So you finally regained your memories then?"

"Yes sir, I have been having nightmares about other things I've been through but it didn't connect until I saw the plaque commemorating my battle against the Quintessons the night I lost my memories, I am correct in stating that the previous President told you about me sir?"

"Yes and now I can tell your family that you've regained your memories and the rest of the military and the world that you have been alive the entire time but due to memory loss we faked your death as a means to protect you"

"When can I get the paperwork to take care of the whole name thing?"

"Don't worry we've had that paperwork ready since we found out about your amnesia we just need you to sign and it should go through within the week"

She quickly signs the paperwork which is sent to the proper people via the Secret Service, most of whom remembered Sara when she had saved the previous President's life and had been waiting for this day for two long years. They then go back to the room where the dinner was being held

"Hey what was going on with you needing to meet the President in private?"

(Shakes her head) "I can't tell you yet, wait a week and you'll find out"

"What if we're sent on mission before then?"

"We won't, trust me considering what just happened in the Oval Office we won't be called out for at least a week maybe a bit longer"

"What's so important about next week?"

"I told you already that you'll have to wait, but trust me it'll impact the military community the likes not seen in two years"

They finish the dinner and head back to temporary housing, no one knew why Folgerson was being so mysterious but they figured they would find out by the end of the next week. While they waited they kept in shape by running together and also kept up their self defense. Sara went to a dojo that allowed military personnel to come in to keep up their skills with the understanding that they may leave at any time due to orders, and with that in mind they always accepted new military personnel easily and allowed them to join a class after being tested

"I see we have a newcomer"

Sara noticed the thick Japanese accent and surprised the dojo master by speaking in Japanese in return

*Yes master, I am only here until the end of the next week at the very least while some paperwork comes through, I was originally here for a ceremony at the White House when on a morning run I saw the dojo. I remember hearing about this place so I decided to check it out for myself*

*It says that you've received the highest class rating and you've warned that you pull your punches due to how strong you are against most opponents*

*Yes having fought EDC robots practically my whole life as an EDC kid I am much stronger than the average martial arts student*

*Seeing as how I am also an EDC kid trained with the practice robots I think I can take you full out*

*Which level master?*

*Full power though I only gained that rating during the war for earth's freedom you?*

*Same due to...unique circumstances I also gained that rating during the war for earths freedom*

*You can't be more than nineteen though*

*Actually I'm about twenty-two years old*

*I understand, well due to your concerns I will be your opponent to start out, full out or slow enough that they can still see our movements?*

*Full out to start master then if they ask we go slower*

"Agreed, now let's switch back to English so that they can understand us again"

"Yes sensei"

The two meet in the middle bow, and then with another teacher there they are told to start the fight and they were  _fast_ due to all the years of self defense training they had

"Can anyone see their movements?"

"Not me they're too fast for the naked eye"

Two  _hours_  later the two masters were reaching the end of their stamina even with the five minute hydration break because of just how hot the dojo was that day

"One...last...attack...sensei?"

"Yes...then...we...rest...agreed?"

"Agreed...no showing...them what...we did"

"Yeah...sound about right"

They both take deep breaths and then rush each other ready for one last hit. The sensei would try to hit Sara in the stomach with a kick but Sara dodged it and punched the sensei in the stomach instead ending the fight because while both were still standing they had agreed to one last hit and then that was it. Not to mention right after they made those moves they both collapsed onto the mats on their backs exhausted beyond what the students had ever seen before. Once they caught their breaths they started talking again

"Maybe we took it a bit far"

"Probably, but in all honesty it's a real life scenario and you know it"

"Yeah, that one slave camp"

"Hey sensei just curious but do you know just how many people are at training robot full power level?"

"Just me I'm afraid, Mark Kerenai has tried to reach that level as well but due to an injury during the war for earth's freedom that's not possible"

"What injury?"

"Very minor nerve damage to one of his arms, it's not severe enough to keep him out of the military but if he fights EDC training robots at too high a level his left arm goes numb for a few hours, one other person attained the same level as me but she's dead, or at least I thought I was the only person still alive, you must have been doing secret training"

"I see, I guess that means besides me you're the fastest person on earth, and yes I guess you could call some of what I went through secret training"

A week later Sara was in the dojo with the rest of her unit though they were in the beginner's level because none of them had ever even heard of this style of martial arts before when Sara signaled to the sensei that she and her unit needed to be going for something important that the sensei would want to watch on the news

"...and that concludes our lesson for today, as I told you yesterday you are free to join me in watching the news in an hour here at the dojo, except for the little ones they have school tomorrow"

The SEAL unit went to the White House in their uniforms most of them wondering what was going on especially with the news crews gathering. The President then entered the private room giving Sara a nod specifically and then telling the rest of the group hello and that they had five minutes before the broadcast started which was live, that's when they noticed Sara looking nervous

"Joanna are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine why do you ask?"

"You're acting nervous all of a sudden"

"Sorry it's just that what's about to happen is bigger than you can imagine and well..."

The President speaks up to try and calm Sara and also asks her a question her unit wouldn't understand until the live broadcast which they would be there for

"Relax Joanna, they'll understand why when we explain it do you want to tell your unit now so that they know what to expect?"

"No and it's nothing against you guys it's just if I say it now while I know you won't give anything away I might lose my nerve and be unable to tell the world"

"But it might make it easier Joanna you know that right?"

"In one way yes but in another...I'm sorry but I just can't do that"

A few minutes later the President's aid came in


	19. Chapter 19

"Guys it's time"

Sara gave a big sigh that the unit knew was to calm her nerves down and then led the procession to where the President was

"...I present to you Lt. Sara Kerenai who has been alive the entire time but amnesic"

Sara went over to the podium while the rest of the unit stood to the side looking shocked

"Hello, my name is Lt. Sara Kerenai but for the past three years I have been known as Joanna Folgerson, I never meant to lie to people but I didn't know my real name. This started three years ago the night the White House was attacked by Quintessons, some of you might remember me going missing for three months before that night. This night was different however because I made the decision that if I was alive but without my memories I would be declared dead for everyone's sake, and there's a reason behind this. I wasn't supposed to survive that night, I used powers I was born with and used a very dangerous powerful attack that was supposed to kill me and right when I used my powers they used an attack which caused the explosion anyone watching the news saw that night. I was found by metro PD and admitted to the hospital as a Jane Doe, when I woke up it was discovered I had no idea who I was but I knew enough to survive. Once I healed up enough I actually joined the Navy once more under the name the government gave me due to my amnesia. Again I am sorry I lied to everyone and also had the government lie but I knew if I was amnesic and people knew I was still alive people would be after me and I wouldn't know why, I couldn't have people die for that reason"

She left the podium to allow the President to field any questions they had which there were a  _lot_ of questions and while that happened the unit went back into the White House where Sara was greeted by her brother whom she hadn't seen in a very long time, she ran up to him and hugged him

"Mark you're okay"

"Hey Sara I'm here and I'm safe, I am actually on terminal leave right now"

Sara stops hugging him and looks at him concerned

"Why what happened?"

"Have you been told about the nerve damage I suffered during the war for earth's freedom?"

"Yes by a sensei of the nearby dojo"

"Well there was a recent attack on the base and unfortunately more nerve damage has happened forcing the military to medically retire me, I'm stuck in an office doing paperwork while my paperwork for medical retirement comes through, and you know that even with the nerve damage I can always find another job"

"I know, Mark this is my SEAL unit I've been with them for the past two years"

"Hi guys, thanks for looking out for my sister without even knowing about it"

"No problem sir"

"So you'll be getting a mission soon probably"

"Yeah but we're ready for it, so was the family called three years ago once I was found in the hospital?"

"Yes we knew the truth the entire time but we also knew better than to spread it around"

"Well we need to get back to the barracks and you need to go home Mark, tell the family I'll see them when I'm on actual shore leave"

"Will do and Sara"

Sara looks back and Mark switches to Cybertronian so that they could have a private conversation in public

*Take care of yourself and come back alive will you? I almost lost you three years ago I don't want to lose you for real*

*I make no promises besides the fact that I'll do my best Mark, that's the most I can do and you know that, take care of the family Mark if I do die and Mark despite the fact that we've hardly known each other if I do die it's been great getting to know you*

The SEAL team then leaves with Sara's team asking questions about what was being said but all she told them was that it was private and that she wasn't telling. Three days later they did indeed receive a new mission and it was a Black Ops mission too which meant that if they died their bodies would never be recovered, not because it couldn't be a sanctioned mission but because it was too dangerous to sanction due to the enemy

"Do you guys understand the mission?"

"Yes sir we understand, now then let's get going"

The mission was a tough one, they ultimately completed the mission but there would be only one person who made it out alive. Sara was the last person alive on the team due to the fact that the enemy had somehow found out about them and thus made sure to kill as many people as possible, the only reason Sara wasn't caught and killed was because she used up all her special ops training to keep herself alive

"Okay just a little further to the evac sight and I'm out of here, good thing I managed to give them the slip and also managed to send the code word for the secondary evac point or I would be in trouble"

She makes it to the chopper and quickly gets on

"Where are the others?"

"Dead and if the enemy finds out where I went we will be too so get the heck out of dodge"

They evacuate to the safe zone where the base commander instantly knew things had gone wrong, after all Sara was bloody, tired and alone. The last part being so blatantly obvious that there was only one explanation for that

"You'll be debriefed in the morning soldier in the meantime get yourself checked out in medical and then get yourself a good meal I have a feeling you've earned it"

Sara heads that way but then stops and turns around holding out five pieces of metal

"Sir, here are their dog tags for the families"

"Thank you soldier, get to medical"

"Yes sir"

With those words Sara goes to medical where it's discovered her injuries were more severe than initially expected

"Well it looks like you're spending the night soldier I'll just start an antibiotic drip to try and prevent any possible infection"

"Don't give me anything that ends in cillin I'm allergic to those types of antibiotics"

"How severe is the allergy?"

"Epinephrine severe"

"Okay then that's definitely out of the question I'm going to make sure you get some food, is there anything you have to avoid with food as well?"

"Nuts I'm allergic to those as well"

"Okay then thanks for telling me, I'll see what's available that won't kill you"

Two days later Sara was released with orders to keep her wounds clean and to take antibiotics for the next month but she was cleared for light duty. When she arrived home her base commander asked to see her

"So how are you doing Kerenai?"

"I've been better sir but I  _am_  improving, seeing the base councilor on a daily bases getting through everything I've seen and done on this last mission"

"Well the prison nearby has made a request"

"Prison program for teens?"

"Got it in one so I presume you've seen Beyond Scared Straight?"

"Yes I have"

"You're going because as far as I know you're the only former POW that is still in the military and has recovered enough to be able to talk to people about it"

"You heard about the training exercise didn't you?"

"Yes I did and it might have helped some of them"

"Am I going in civvies or uniform?"

"Civvies we don't want to give anything away too soon after all"

Two days later she helped with the jail tour for the troubled teens though they wondered why an adult was with them they didn't ask any questions to her exactly but between themselves they did. Then they had some time with the inmates and they told their story and the teens were scared but she could tell they hadn't made any connections and that's when she gave the subtle signal that it was her turn to talk to the kids


	20. Chapter 20

"Inmates are to hear this as well. You kids think this is all a joke? I've seen worse than these inmates much much worse"

"Yeah right nothing seems worse than this prison and even this doesn't seem so bad"

"You would think that wouldn't you except these scars prove you wrong"

She takes off her shirt and shows them her back and they see it  _littered_  in scars, she also shows her back to the inmates showing them the scars as well. She then puts her shirt back on and is disrespected in a major way

"Those scars are faked"

(Scoffs) "I wish they were fake, these scars are the result of three years as a POW, that's a military acronym for Prisoner Of War. I've been through something much worse than prison, I had no comrades with me, no friends, no one looked for me because of an impostor, I was completely alone. They tried to make me give up codes that I knew but I never gave in I never gave up the codes. After three years I escaped and eventually made it to a Canadian base before finally making it home after the American base was contacted. I eventually healed but before I was allowed back on active duty I had to pass several different tests to make sure I was able to still handle military duty. So, you tell me that what I've been through isn't worse than prison"

She started to head back to her seat when a kid made a move for her, because they somehow had managed to sneak in a ceramic blade, but Sara was much faster and disarmed the teen before anyone got hurt

"That...was the most stupidest thing you could have done, I am a  _trained_   _soldier_  which means my reflexes are honed to the max, and most of that honing happened during the war for earth's freedom which ended before you were even born or shortly afterwords. I have  _killed_  people for sneaking up on me and those were the enemy because we're taught in the military to always alert someone to your presence just in case, in fact that policy has actually saved my at least once because a scout hadn't come back so I went to find him and he was still hiding in his last known location. I alerted him to my presence immediately because he heard something coming and was ready to shoot but when I identified myself he put his gun down and gave me an update and then I helped him get back to the rest of the team. So yeah I don't think a teenager still in high school can beat me unless they have martial arts training and even then it depends on their level"

"You guys have a program to finish, except for the stupid teen you are under arrest for bringing a weapon into the jail"

"You guys might want to have his wrist checked out, I don't  _think_  I injured it but because it was so sudden we can't be too sure"

"Do your best to limit your strength?"

"Yeah except against the EDC training robots because I am at full power against those guys"

(Whistles) "OK yeah he needs checked out for possible injuries"

Sara leaves the jail hoping that the kids had a better understanding about how bad the situation was but also understand that things in the jail weren't nearly as bad as other things, before she went home she took her daily dose of antibiotics. On the way back to base though she was involved in an accident as a witness and she called 9-1-1 and identified herself and was told to try and get the pedestrians under control until officers could get there, and that's when she noticed the FBI agent also there and alerted the dispatcher to that development as well. Once that was taken care of she got out of the car

"All right, everyone to the side of the road! You get back now!"

Once everyone was at the side of the road Sara asked about anyone with medical training

"I do I actually work at the nearby hospital and was headed to work when the accident happened"

"I have supplies in my trunk, use what you need until the ambulance gets here"

She then sees the FBI agent struggling with someone and decides to help out. She managed to get to the agent's side when the agent was pushed away, but Sara managed to tackle the person and keep him under control until the agent put the cuffs on him

"Thanks for you help Ms. I wasn't sure just how much longer I could handle him I just saw him on my way to another town and knew he was wanted by us so I tried to arrest him and well...he caused the accident, but next time don't do anything you could have been hurt"

"I know that agent Faller but being that I'm in the Navy I knew I could take him"

"Yeah being a trained soldier helps"

Eventually the police arrived and since the agent's car was totaled it was decided the agent in the back with the suspect would be taken to the police station and everything else was sorted out, the nurse's car would be driven in by another officer while the nurse drove in with the paramedics to her job while everyone else could simply drive on their way after giving their statements

"Is it safe to say we can reach you at the base for now?"

"Yeah I'm still on light duty due to antibiotics that I'm taking"

"The same antibiotics that are currently in your car?"

"The very same, they're prophylactic antibiotics after an...intense mission"

Sara returned to base and to paperwork. Eventually the month ended and she got her new marching orders, even though she was a Navy SEAL a medical ship was in need of a few security people just in case and being a SEAL Sara had all the training she would need to protect the ship from any and every possible attack

"Understood sir, when's the COD coming?"

"Within the hour"

Two hours later Sara landed on the medical ship

"Lt. Sara Kerenai reporting for duty sir"

"Lt. Kerenai for now I need you on one of the guns, even though this is a medical ship sadly we've been in a heavy pirate area for the last five weeks and lost one of the gunner two days ago. Another soldier has been pulling double shifts on the gun voluntarily but I'm worried about just how hard he's pushing himself"

"Is he on duty now?"

"Yes second shift starts in five minutes"

"Okay tell me which gun is he at and I'll take over"

She gets there right as the shift is ending and she alerts the Petty Officer to her presence

"Petty Officer Crayson stand to!"

The Petty Officer turns and identifies her as friend due to her uniform

"Who are you and when did you arrive?"

"Lt. Kerenai I just got on board the ship and I'm taking over your extra guard shift get to the racks you need sleep"

"Yes Ma'am, Master Gunnery Sergeant Anderson will take over for third shift"

"Understood Petty Officer Crayson"

The Petty Officer leaves letting Sara do her job. Six hour later she was relieved by Master Gunnery Sergeant Anderson allowing her to get some food and find out where she was assigned to bunk until further notice

"Kerenai, it states here that you've managed to keep up your all of your qualifications despite being amnesic and special forces for three year, how's that possible?"

"Simple even though I didn't know why, I wanted to be as involved in the armed forces as I could so they made sure I qualified for everything I had been qualified for before and then will just make sure I keep up those qualifications"

"That's amazing, and once this assignment is done you'll be assigned a new SEAL unit correct?"

"Yes sir I will"

"What for if I may ask?"

"That sir is classified, you already seem to know too much about me as it is"

"There's actually a reason for that Lt. Kerenai"

"Oh and what reason would a ship's captain have to know so much about me?"

"How about being a fellow EDC kid?"

"Okay yeah you have a valid reason, I forgot that after that whole fiasco with the  _USS AVENGER_  I authorized all EDC kids from the age ten and up to fully know about me, and the reason why is because I lost my entire unit last mission as a SEAL"

"I see, how have you been since that day?"

"I've been coping, sometimes I'm okay other times I'm doing something and suddenly it hits me that my comrades would be doing the same thing or I'm seeing another sailor doing something another unit member liked to do whenever we weren't on mission"

"Have you been talking to someone about these things?"

"Yeah I have, and I still do it's just..."

"I know, I wasn't really allowed to participate in the war for earth's freedom but every so often I see someone doing something a person in my camp did on their downtime and it just hits me out of the blue, because it's so like the fallen person yet at the same time different"

"Exactly, well I need to get some sleep so just tell me where I'm bunking and I'll get out of your hair for a bit"

Over the next three weeks things were actually pretty routine, Sara stayed at the gun for the most part except whenever some of the medical personnel went on shore to visit the clinics. Whenever that happened Sara made sure to carry several different weapons with her so that she could do her job and protect the medical personnel, finally though they made it back to American soil which meant everyone could relax because it meant they were safe. When Sara got to the base she found that there was a letter for her which was actually new orders

" _Lt. Kerenai I know you just finished guarding a medical ship but unfortunately I still need you to serve as a protector, as you may or may not know there is a major conference in Paris, France and I am going there as well. I have decided along with the rest of the world leaders that you are to guard all the leaders of the world whenever possible not just me, I know this is a strange request but considering just how frequent the Quintesson attacks have been lately we need you. Just so you know the Musketeer system has been put back into place so don't worry if you see people with Rapiers those are the standard weapons of the Musketeers as you well know. But they are also a modern defense force so they do also have modern weapons and are wearing modern uniforms, I don't know how it's decided they become Musketeers but don't ask please. You are to meet me at the White House as soon as you get this message, we leave in two days but there are several meetings you need to attend before then_ "

Sara quickly arranges a flight to DC and heads straight to the White House once the plane lands. Over the next two days they make contingency plans for every possible scenario they could think of from a sudden medical emergency, to the worst possible thing, a nuclear attack on the city that leads to another World War. When it was time to go the chief of the Secret Service asked Sara to say a few words about something that not many people would know about if it could be helped to a very select group of people in a private room

"As some of you might know I was born with special powers, and at the conference I will be using those powers if we're under attack yes, however they will already be in constant use without an attack. Due to the fact that this conference is very important in regards to keeping world peace I will be using internal Arranyan shields in all the world leaders, myself and the heads of each security detail. Those shields will be protecting major internal organs but no one but you guys will know about it. Please don't say anything to anyone because otherwise people might become complacent and we can't have that no matter what"

"Why only the select few and yourself?"

(Sighs) "I was expecting that, look I need to conserve my energy as much as possible in case there's an attack on the conference. Yes using the shields on me won't drain me that much but the more I use my powers the faster I get weak, and even with body armor people have been known to be killed by bullets strong enough to pierce the protective vests. And besides as far as the world leaders are concerned I'm a very important security personnel and unfortunately I can't explain why"

Finally they got onto Air Force One and headed to France, though it would take a few hours

"So what do we do while we're headed to France?"

"Nothing really except double and triple check the security arrangements"

"We should also take turns taking two hour naps to keep us fresh"

"Fine Kerenai, it makes sense anyways"

Eventually though they arrived at France and it was actually late at night due to the fact that they had been forced to temporarily land in England for a few hours due to weather in France being deemed too dangerous


	21. Chapter 21

"Welcome to France Mr. President, we're honored you were able to come to this meeting"

"I am honored to be here Prime Minister, um where is the King?"

"Ill I'm afraid, he's caught pneumonia from a visiting relative and is in the hospital"

"Are all the Musketeers guarding the hospital then?"

"No only five of them are guarding the hospital, the rest are going to be security for both the meeting and the leaders of the various countries"

*How long have you guys been preparing for this meeting?*

*Six months now, don't worry, wait are you Kerenai?*

*Yes I am*

*You're needed at the palace, I'll take you there but the Versailles Palace is the headquarters for the Musketeers and you need to know what plans are already in place*

Sara turns to the rest of the Secret Service

"Okay guys call me when you get to the hotel so I know which hotel you're at and I'll hopefully be there sometime later tonight emphasis on hopefully"

"And just where are you going?"

"Versailles palace, it's Musketeer headquarters"

"Fine, at least we know where you'll be if you're needed until the meeting in two days"

Sara eventually arrives at the palace and everything is explained to both sides. Two days later the conference begins and for the first day things are actually smooth, Sara had been with every single leader at one point or another, staying a little longer with her President to give him an update

"Everything seems fine so far, the Musketeers deem anyone they don't recognize as suspicious and never leave there primaries side even for another dignitary. They trust the security of other countries to an extent but since it's their country they stay the closest"

"Okay, look I don't know why but for some reason I want you to stay close to the French Prime Minister tomorrow even if I seem to be in trouble  _don't leave his side_  is that understood?"

"Yes Mr. President it's understood"

The next day things started out okay, but then things went sour at lunch. Sara had stayed close to the French Prime Minister all day so far and they were at a restaurant that was serving several dignitaries and had done so every time there was a major international event in the city

*Kerenai why have you stuck so close to the Prime Minister today of all days?, we know you are to protect all the dignitaries especially if there are Quintessons but still*

*Presidential order even I don't really know why*

Suddenly there was a major commotion, one of the groups who were  _not_  happy about the current Prime Minister and how he was leading the country. The Musketeers were doing their jobs when suddenly they were separated by force from him, but Sara was slick she had managed to stick to the Prime Minister despite the conflict and it turned out to be a good thing too. The criminal decided to shoot the Prime Minister not knowing about the internal Arranyan shields and Sara was going to keep that a secret as long as possible because she took the shots instead

"No...you don't"

Sara brings out a gun and shoots the perpetrator killing him instantly, she then collapses from her wounds just as the Musketeers get back to the Prime Ministers side

*We need an ambulance now! Tell them to make sure to speak English whenever possible*

*What for?*

*Because it's Kerenai who needs the ambulance*

*Got it how's the Prime Minister?*

*He's safe, no injuries, just a bit shaken up*

Sara was rushed to the hospital where it was discovered that non of her vital organs were hit

"How can this be?"

"Not sure, maybe she can answer those questions once she wakes up but for now she needs treatment"

They give her general anesthesia for emergency surgery and when it was finally done they found the Secret Service, the US President, the French Prime Minister and over a dozen Musketeers in the waiting room

"Are all of you here for Sara Kerenai?"

"Yes, how's the Lt.?"

"Lt.? I don't know anyone named Lt. but Sara Kerenai is going to be fine, somehow the bullet missed all the vital organs, she should be up and about in three days, and nothing strenuous for at least a month, it's not because we had to cut any bones but because it's going to take at least that long for her to heal up enough not to worry about tearing out the stitches"

"That's good to hear doctor, and sorry about the confusion you see Sara Kerenai is normally a Lt. in the United States Navy but I personally requested her to come and the rest of the world leaders agreed"

"My mistake then, it's just that she wasn't in uniform or wearing any identification tags that mark her as military so I had no way of knowing"

"That's my fault I'm afraid I told her to leave her tags behind shortly before we left the country, due to some extreme circumstances they most likely would have gotten her killed or captured"

"Well her days as a guard are finished, she needs rest to properly heal, and I need answers as to how she avoided hits to her internal organs because her heart at the very least should have been nicked considering where the bullet was"

"Um I have an explanation for that"

"Yes Agent...?"

"Florence, you see she was born with special powers that revealed themselves when she was four, she told me, my second and one other person that for all of us, the world leaders and their head of security she would use those powers internally so that even if we got shot we could still fight, which is what she did, she probably passed out from the blood loss though considering where we were told she was hit"

"Is it safe to assume that the shields are down now that she's unconscious?"

"Yes Mr. President it is, she actually told me that in private, but once she wakes up the shields will be back on until she leaves the country because there is apparently a distance limit of the city"

"Well we currently have her on dicloxacillin so she should be..."

"You put her on what?!"

"Dicloxacillin it's..."

"It's going to kill her if you don't do something now!"

"What do you mean?"

Suddenly a code blue was heard for Sara's room unbeknownst to them for the moment but the way the doctor rushed off told them something was very very wrong with one of his patients. Fifteen minutes later the doctor was back

"Can anyone tell me why Kerenai went into anaphylactic shock?"

"Because of you idiot"

"Agent Florence how dare you accuse us of neglect"

"Well you should have asked us about medical history before putting her on any medications, she's allergic to anything that ends in cillin, nuts and bluebottle venom, more commonly known as the Portuguese man-of-wars though she can still eat any and all kids of seafood. And another thing where was her medic alert bracelet?, that should have told you about the allergy before you did anything stupid"

"We didn't see any bracelet on her"

The Americans turn to the French team

"We saw it on her earlier today, it must have fallen off during the firefight somehow and nobody noticed it fell off"

Just then the two Paramedics came over with a silver thing

*Doctor we just found this on the floor of the ambulance, it goes with the patient we brought in with gunshot wounds*

*I wish I had this earlier because I could have avoided the medical emergency I just dealt with*

He grabs the silver item and the American team immediately recognizes it

"That's her medical alert tag, where was it?"

"Apparently it wound up on the floor of the ambulance and I think I know how, and it's no ones fault except her attackers"

"How so?"

"The clasp is definitely broken, it must have gotten hit in the firefight"

(Sighs) "I apologize then doctor you had no way of knowing about her allergies"

"I'm also sorry we should have taken medical history and double checked it before we finished surgery, but she was in such critical condition that by the time we would have thought of it all of us were in the middle of taking care of her"

The paramedics interrupt with a clearing of the throat

*Excuse me doctor but what is so important about that little necklace with the strange symbol*

*This is what's called a medical alert tag, the symbol is the medical symbol in the United States, this necklace tells everyone who to contact and what she's allergic to, which can make a huge difference in medical treatment depending on the information we get. If I had this necklace from the start I wouldn't have just had to deal with anaphylactic shock just now*

*Sorry doctor we also didn't notice it fall off when treating her in the ambulance we just noticed it when cleaning*

*We'll talk about that later, for now you guys are still on shift*

The doctor shifts his attention back to the group

"Well this is going to set her back by at least a day despite our quick action in dealing with the emergency so she's going to be here for at least four days"

"At least she's alive, but doctor would you please get that fixed and put it back on her ASAP?" (As Soon As Possible)

"No problem, all it needs is a new chain, we'll also put the information on her medical chart"

"Okay I guess we should all head back to our different places, Mr. Prime Minister before we leave I just wanted to ask if you're really alright?"

"Yes when we arrived at the hospital before you I told the nurse that Sara had been protecting me causing her to be injured and she made sure I was checked out shortly before you arrived"

"Okay I'm glad you're okay, is the conference still on for tomorrow?"

"Yes, we have to show these guys that they can't intimidate me or the French government"

The next day would bring about another surprise but this surprise would be more pleasant, a terrorist group interrupted the meeting and called out America

"What do you want with us?"

"Simple surrender the Mariana Islands and we'll return these soldiers that succeeded in slowing us down from the takeover"

The rest of the intruders bring out five obviously injured people in Navy uniforms

"Why you..."

"Oh by the way you would be proud of them, they kept slowing us down and never gave up anything besides name, rank and date of birth oh and for some strange reason the American Constitution"

"Annoyance factor" (turns to the President) "Mr. President I must apologize for my team in regards to failing to escape capture, they captured us when we were down and most likely believed dead, they've been torturing us on a regular basis trying to break us but they failed, however we don't know where Kerenai is"

"I'm sure you guys did everything you could, and you've already done me proud by not breaking under torture, and Sara is fine, in the hospital due to a group here trying to kill the Prime Minister but she'll be fine within the month"

"Mr. President I have to wonder, due to the Marianas being considered US territory why didn't you sanction this group for an official mission that you could have recovered their bodies if they had truly died that day?"

"Simple, to keep you guys from finding out because I figured I had a traitor in my Cabinet which I did, I was going to officially sanction the mission after they had come home but when I found that you five were supposedly dead and things were still precarious I knew I couldn't do that, and if you terrorists even  _think_  I'm going to just surrender the Marianas without a vote from them you have another thing coming creeps"

"That's telling them Mr. President and by the way permission for Omega 565?"

"Permission granted team, permission most definitely granted, Prime Minister you might want to have your Musketeers hit the deck"

*All Musketeers get your protectees down the US Navy soldiers are about to do something*

They did exactly that and the SEAL's did indeed do some impressive hand to hand fighting along with flash bangs which blinded the enemy but not the SEAL team due to special contacts that Sara had gotten the team immediately after she regained her memories


	22. Chapter 22

"Okay Mr. President, Prime Minister the bad guys are down and out"

Everyone slowly gets up and that's when the President gets a surprise, as well as Sara when she sees her SEAL team

"Lt. Kerenai what on earth are you doing here?"

"I was released early this morning by the doctor who's amazed that I'm healing so well, what's my dead team doing here?"

"Apparently they weren't dead like previously thought just taken captive"

"Oh that's unexpected"

Suddenly though they heard a noise and Sara realized what was needed. She put her arms into an X and pointed the two fingers closest to the thumb up and then rapidly pulled her arms down and declared her attack

"Arranyan winds!"

The enemy was taken back down right as the police arrived and arrested the group but not before a declaration was made

"We aren't the only ones Mr. President there are others that stayed in the Marianas, once they hear we've been taken captive they'll accelerate our plans to take over the islands and there's nothing you can do to stop it"

"We'll stop them so you guys have failed, if it's not this team it'll be another that I promise"

The French Prime Minister speaks up

"Mr. President even though there are still three days left in the conference but I'm allowing you to leave early to deal with this emergency in regards to your country and...I am offering an alliance that will allow you to have more people fight for the Marianas"

"Agreed Prime Minister I accept your offer of alliance"

"Excellent"

The Prime Minister decides that the French Foreign Legion would be the best choice due to their...unique abilities to fight en mass and be highly adaptive at the same time. A few days later the Foreign Legion was alerted to the fact that they were to help free the Marianas along with a contingent of US Marines

"What about us Mr. President? I thought we would be part of it too considering what we were doing before being taken captive"

"All of you need to heal from various injuries and that's final, the doctor put all of you on medical leave and I tend to agree with him"

"Yes sir"

The SEAL team was in America by the time the attack on the Marianas by the French Foreign Legion and the US Marines happened. There were also teams of Navy SEAL's helping with the local resistance groups and also forming groups as well in areas that didn't have any means of fighting back

"Why couldn't SEAL team five subgroup seven do this?"

"Easy all of them are on medical leave for various reasons"

"Great and they would be perfect for just such a mission"

"At least our Marines have the French Foreign Legion with them otherwise things would be worse"

"You win"

Weather soon played a huge factor in who was able to fight and who wasn't due to the conditions the weather caused. Fortunately the freedom fighters were about to get some help because Kerenai and her team healed faster than expected and they were headed to the Marianas via an aircraft carrier

"Hold on guys help's coming I promise"

"Kerenai are you still worried about the teams fighting for the Marianas?"

"Yes I fear that the enemy has something bad in mind"

"Okay then come on we have mission debrief"

"I'll be with you in a few there are some planes I need to talk to"

"Oh yeah I forgot about them they might have their own plans that we don't know about"

Sara goes to the flight deck and speaks in Cybertronian

*Starscream, Scourge and Jetfire what are your plans in regards to the whole Mariana situation?*

*We allow human pilots to control us unless we fear they can't handle the situation or they go unconscious and if necessary we'll leave the flight deck by transforming without human pilots*

*Okay I'll tell the captain which you should have done when you first boarded*

*We just thought up this plan not two minutes ago*

*Okay you guys win*

Sara goes to the bridge

"Where were you Scoutfire?"

"Sorry sir I was asking the Cybertronians about their plans"

"What are their plans?"

"Human pilots are in control unless something comes up that the pilots can't handle and if they deem it necessary they'll transform and leave the flight deck without pilots"

"I can live with that tell them they have permission to use their discretion, actually I'll do that"

"So what is the plan sir?"

"Due to you being Navy SEAL's I can't really give you that many orders for this war due to the fact that the would be pointless"

"Not necessarily sir, what were your original plans before you found out we were SEAL's?"

"We fear the beaches have been mined and those on the islands can't tell us due to black out communication orders, could you check it out and then come back to the ship and tell me the results personally? I fear that if I don't hear it from you I might get misinformation"

"No problem sir, but if we're going to do that you might want to stay at least three miles from the coast until we give you the all clear"

"No problem, and don't worry I know how to handle these sailors, it's the Marines I'm going to have to wonder about"

"Sir you're the captain of the ship, as long as they're on this ship they follow your orders"

"Forgot about that okay I'll tell everyone that I have people scouting the potential landing sights and that they are to stay on the ship until I receive word from the scouts"

Finally they arrived to three miles off shore and the SEAL team left under the cover of darkness. The captain thought about the conversation he'd had just an hour earlier


	23. Chapter 23

_An hour ago_

"We're about an hour from our stopping point"

"Good, we'll be in wetsuit gear for this mission due to the fact that we have to stay underwater for a long period of time"

"We'll be waiting for your signal to pick you up on the port side"

"Soldiers on the deck?"

"Yes"

"Understood, captain if we're not back in three hours consider us captured. If that happens you are to get out of the area and think of another plan to get yourselves to the islands"

"I understand, three hours"

_Present time_

"Come back safely team, we're counting on you"

"Sir were you talking to yourself?"

"Sorry I'm just worried about our advanced scouts"

Two and a half hours later he was doing paperwork when the door to his office was knocked on

"Come in"

"Sir we have six people in black wetsuits requesting permission to come aboard using standard military Morse code"

"Let them aboard"

"Yes sir"

Five minutes later the six people still in wetsuits and masks were in his office

"Report soldiers"

"There are indeed bombs heading to the beach, unfortunately we can't safely disarm them and detonating them will only alert the enemy to our presence"

"Do you have any other idea to get our people to the islands without being noticed?"

"I do but I highly doubt you or the President is going to like this"

"And just what is the idea?"

"Japan, we use Japanese Self Defense Force planes and helicopters and wear Japanese military uniforms sneaking in that ways"

"You're right I hate that idea and I highly doubt the President would like it either"

"That's what I figured which is why I only said something because you asked"

"Looks like we're going to be alerting the enemy to our presence then"

"Maybe not, Scoutfire what about your special abilities?"

"That could actually work after all it was discovered that if I wished the special abilities can block sound, which means we can safely detonate the mines after all"

"One moment Brotherbear, how much will you be extending yourself Scoutfire?"

"Half my strength and it will take a good nights rest for me to completely recover"

"Then I'm against it"

"Sorry Lightfist but Brotherbear is in charge and you know it"

"But Scoutfire..."

"I'm also very willing to do this"

"Fine looks like I'm outvoted"

"You bet you are"

"How soon can you set all of this up?"

"As soon as the equipment to blow the mines up is ready"

"Half an hour then"

Thirty minutes later the team was back in the bridge and the team leader nodded to Sara

"Arranyan shields silent mode"

The detonator is pushed and no one heard a thing, but suddenly Sara collapsed onto her knees

"Okay they're finished we can safely storm the beach now

"Then let's do it"

They  _quietly_  storm the beaches and start setting up rest areas, Sara wasn't allowed to take any guard shifts that night, but they also didn't know about the secret orders that Sara had, though they would find out the next night. The day after they landed they had hiked several miles trying to find an established resistance group or if not start a group

(Sighs) "I'm wondering if this part of the island is even inhabited"

"Well if we traverse the entire island and don't find someone we'll head to the next nearest island from our ending point"

"Only if it's not night out it's simply too dangerous to do otherwise"

"Agreed, even though us SEAL's are trained for such things the rest of you are not, even with night vision capabilities you guys aren't used to rough waters"

They finally reached the end of the beach that night due to the fact that the island was so small. Sara had taken the final shift before everyone was supposed to wake up deliberately

"Sorry guys but orders are orders"

Sara had received special orders when her team was ordered to help with the Marianas islands situation a little over two weeks earlier

_Two weeks earlier_

"Hey guys looks like we have new orders"

Everyone read their orders separately and saw the standard order to help with the war for the Marianas but then she saw a separate special order for her

" _Lt. Kerenai I would never normally give you special orders when you're supposed to stay with your unit but unfortunately I need to give you such orders. We recently lost contact with a Marine unit sent to scout a potential base that your comrades told us about while they were captured for those four months. I need you to try and find this unit using their last known coordinates and this has to be a solo mission due to the danger of being discovered if a group is used signed the President of the United States_ "

Sara then talks with the rest of the unit about the new orders and how soon they had to be ready

"Well I already have a go bag packed and ready at my place what about you guys?"

"Same but my place is over an hour away, but closer to the air base we need to use"

"Why an air base?"

"Simple they ran into a mechanical emergency that forced them to land at the nearest military base that could handle their aircraft"

"How bad?"

"Three failed engines, turns out that they unknowingly struck birds"

"Bird strikes one of the major causes of air crashes these days"

"Exactly and if you're wondering how I heard about this I have a cousin in the air force and the Navy plane landed at her base"

"Okay let's all get our stuff first, head to your place so you can get your stuff and then all head to the air base together"

"Sounds like a plan"

So that's exactly what they do

_Present_


	24. Chapter 24

"Hope to see you guys soon, but if not at least you guys have the support of my family waiting on the ship for our call, or the call of anyone in need. But for now time to do my mission"

Sara quietly slips into the water and then swims towards the last known coordinates of the missing Marines. The next morning the team wakes up to a panicked voice, a Marine who woke up shortly after dawn due to a monkey

"Hey where's Scoutfire?"

Everyone else woke up and no one could find Scoutfire in the immediate area

"What now?"

"We continue our mission, but first we alert the captain to the fact that a soldier has gone missing somehow, once we do that we're going for a little swim"

"Can't we make a boat?"

"Actually yeah that would be a better idea"

They do exactly as suggested and then head to the nearest island, and head in the opposite direction of Kerenai due to how they decided to land on the island on the opposite side of where they left. With Sara

"Okay time for a lunch break, I just hope the rest of the team is actually continuing the mission without me like we vowed"

An hour later Sara arrived at the last known coordinates of the Marine team and found signs of a struggle, and also a hidden message by one Marine

"Good going Marine, this will hopefully lead me to you guys"

Sara and her team each headed in their own directions and actually wound up on opposite sides of the same complex, a concentration camp. With Sara

"A concentration camp, okay time for me to gather Intel and then hopefully find my team to make up a strike force"

With the Marines and Sara's unit

"A concentration camp, let's gather Intel and then see what we can do to free this place"

Scoutfire on one side and Lighfist on the other both started scouting the area when they bumped into each other right after finding the missing Marines that Sara was looking for, both instinctively smothered the other's mouth to prevent being discovered when they recognized each other

*Scoutfire where have you been?*

*Sorry I was given separate orders to find some missing Marines which I have just found in this concentration camp*

*Understood, but if everyone is here that means we can't have a resistance quite yet on this island*

*Maybe not, back in my direction there was a town with people still in it, how about we go to the team and then we head to the town to start planning a breakout and also to start up a resistance?*

*Works for me come on*

They get back to the rest of the team where Sara quickly explains the separate mission and the nearby town they could stage

"Fine, let's go then good thing it's night time"

"Come on let's get going"

About two hours later they made it to the village and while the people of the island weren't too happy initially as soon as they saw the American flag on their uniforms they instantly relaxed knowing that they were friends

"Okay who is going to explain the whole resistance aspect?"

"I will the rest of you start making plans for freeing that concentration camp"

That's exactly what happened and the people of the town were very happy to start up a resistance

"We'll help teach you guys how to fight properly once we free a concentration camp about two hours from here"

"We know that area well, it was a secondary hunting and farming ground, the intruders ran us off our land and we have been waiting for the proper moment to get it back"

"Look you're not going to like this but you need to stay here"

"But..."

"No buts, I'm sorry but none of you know how to fight and this  _will_  be a fight, this is for your own safety once we free the camp we'll come back"

"When that happens then we'll take care of the injured"

"Good, we'll do our best then and we're going to teach you how to fight when we get back"

"Still you might need scouts and since we know the area"

"Don't worry we've already scouted the area"

They head back and start the fight Sara also used her powers but they soon realized they would need some major help

"Dawnstar, Dawnstar this is Bakebreak come in"

"we read you Bakebreak what's up?"

"We have a concentration camp that's also a fortress we could use some help here"

"Sorry but we're in a bit of a pinch ourselves we've just been discovered  _and_  another Marine unit is calling for cover fire"

Suddenly everyone hears something over the radio that only one person can understand due to the fact that it was in an alien language

*Sara I can break off and help, if you use your contacts you'll get Quintesson signals and since this situation is now under control I'm coming over, though I'll have to explain things to my pilot, but once he hears the situation he should be fine*

*Copy that Scourge what's your ETA?* (Estimated Time of Arrival)

*Five minutes from break off point*

*Copy that I'll see if we can hold the line here*

*Copy that, and watch your use of powers they might have something that makes it less effective against them*

*Now you tell me*

*Sorry I'm breaking off in three, two, one, I'm five minutes out*

Then over the same radio they hear the pilot

"What are you doing Scourge? I have men still in battle"

Anything else said was not over the radio but Sara signaled that they were to try and hold the line where they were, right as they heard Scourge they saw Quintessons


	25. Chapter 25

"Looks like Scourge was right there are Quintessons here, that's going to make my job a little more difficult now"

The pilot got on the radio again

"This is Littlespot, where do you need me to shoot?"

"Littlespot this is Scoutfire, see the tower just off to the left of the compound?"

"I see it, blow it up?"

"As long as there aren't any human signals go right on ahead, Scourge if need be take over so that we don't have any innocent casualties"

"Not to worry I can already tell who's friend and who's foe even the human targets"

"Good, then fire at will Littlespot"

Eventually they succeeded in taking out the concentration camp and freeing everyone there. They then walked the two hours to the village due to the fact that no one was severely hurt. Once they arrived at the town there were several villagers there very happy to see their family members again

"We'll start the training once everyone's had a chance to rest and recover"

The next day everyone from the village started their training so that if anything happened again and the Marine unit staying behind was taken down they could still fight back

"So this is basically guerrilla warfare?"

"Pretty much yeah"

"Okay then teach and we will use your lessons wisely"

"First we need to know what weapons you guys have"

"The K-139 rifle, K-42 shotgun and K-72 pistols, we have those in stockpile"

"Okay do you guys know how to use them and keep them maintained?"

"Not entirely"

"Okay that's something else we'll be teaching you"

Over the next week they teach the villagers how to protect themselves and take care of the weapons, then Sara's team had new orders for another area of the Marianas

"So are we publicly fighting or guerrilla warfare?"

"Both, half of the island is free and actively fighting control the other half is under terrorist control"

"Great, well might as well go and take care of the situation"

Suddenly though before they could leave they heard the distinct sound of tanks coming their way

"First though I have something else to take care of, then the villagers are on their own"

Sara goes to her right knee and puts  _both_  hands flat on the ground

"Arranyan earthquake mountain!"

Suddenly the entire ground before them shakes like there had been an earthquake and a mountain formed preventing the tanks from going any further

"That should hold them...temporarily at least"

"Thanks, we can take it from here"

"Right, first let's take a look at the island via a map, just so we know what we're getting into"

They bring out a map and are told which area is free and which isn't

"Hm...I think I see the main problem the group is currently having and it's not a good thing"

Sara then puts in a special earphone device that couldn't be traced no matter what she does and then calls a family member

*Hey Starscream think you, Jetfire and Scourge can do a solo bombing run on the island that is half free half not?*

*What for?*

*I think I know why the forest area still isn't free and it's not a good reason either, I think the enemy is using deadly booby traps that not even dogs can detect*

*We can try, then you guys are on your own there are so many bombing missions we need to be ready for those at any and all time*

*Understood, we'll be on stand bye on the island to start our active attack, we'll wait for your signal to do so though*

*Then before that happens we'll wait for your signal that you're actually on the island*

*Copy that I'll let the rest of the team know the plan then*

She then whistles a unique whistle sound to alert her team that she needed to talk to them in sign language and through military signals let the team know the plan and they agreed to it seeing as how it made the most sense. Several hours later they were finally at the island and in the free section as well and Sara made contact with her family again

*Starscream it's me, time for the bombing run, once you confirm you've completed the mission we'll take over in regards to guerrilla warfare for the jungle and don't worry, we can take care of ourselves*

An hour later Sara got the confirmation she needed

"All right then, we can go and start actively fighting back in the jungle using guerrilla warfare, we'll try and help you guys here as well but the enemy might be easier to fight if the American military splits it's duties between here and the jungle"

"But you guys can't fight alone"

"Sergeant we're special forces we can take care of ourselves"

"Fine but do your best to come back alive will ya? I would hate to have to explain that to the President"

"Fine, I wouldn't want to be you either or the President"

For the next two months the fighting went on when eventually Sara came up with a plan that no one else would dare think of but would also cause the unit pain and suffering. Sara had requested a secret meeting with the leaders of the rebellion the night before and had succeeded in getting them to stop their takeover, but in exchange she had to be their prisoner and no one was to go looking for her meaning everyone had to believe she was dead. The next day they were doing their patrols when Sara realized it was time to falsely surrender to the enemy

"Guys tell my family I'm sorry and that no matter what happens in the future I was glad for the time I had with them"

Sara then deliberately steps on a landmine that flashed brightly and left a very convincing body double due to her powers. Two days later they found out that the rebellion had ended with the terrorists leaving the island for another island that they had lived on before and it was only them, a peace treaty was signed and things went back to normal. The SEAL team had done as Sara requested

"I see I'll tell the rest of the family and the President so that you don't have too"

"What about Mark?"

"Don't worry we'll take care of that"

"Stupid landmine"

"Wait she left us a message to give to you guys, what if she surrendered herself to the enemy to stop this senseless war?"

"There's no way of proving that seeing as how the body is giving off the special chemical, and even if your theory is true we'd have no way of finding her because she may not actually be on that island"

"Oh yeah, well what do we do then?"

"For now nothing, but eventually we may find the full truth to Sara's death or even her supposed death and we'll deal with the consequences then"

"But what will you guys do in the meantime?"

"Protect earth like she would have wanted"

The boat eventually lands in Pearl Harbor and the SEAL team leaves due to the fact that they had another mission twenty-four hours after getting back on American soil, it was the mission they would have done if not for the sudden need to free the Mariana islands. After that they were allowed proper leave so that they could mourn Sara's death properly and also see if a new member would fit into the team so that they had a six man team still. Ten years later most of them would either be retired or dead while the newer members of the team took over and continued to be one of the best teams in the country. During those ten years the American government did it's best to find out if Sara Kerenai was really alive or not and ten years to the day after losing her they would get an answer. There had been a lot of little fights in India for the past five years and though the fights never lasted long they were in major areas of the country. Six months before America got an answer to the Kerenai question as it was known in Special Forces India officially asked for help in regards to a rebellion that had been attempted for five years now, the Indian government was getting help from rebels that worked alongside the government in an unofficial capacity but the rag tag group of resistance fighters couldn't hold out for much longer. When the Indian government was told that they decided to ask the United Nations for help and while not every country could send soldiers to the country all agreed to various ways of helping the country both through the crises and afterwords when things had settled down. America was one such country that had offered it's services to help with the rebels with man power


	26. Chapter 26

"And I know just who to send first as well"

"Who Mr. President?"

"SEAL team five subgroup seven the best team in the country"

"Those guys are legends in their own right, no one knows their identities of course but according to what I've heard their success rate on sanctioned missions is one hundred percent and no one knows about the black ops missions that no one can ever know about"

"There's a reason behind that as well"

"We agree, though you might want to send regular troops over as well"

"That's the plan but I'm sending the SEAL team back with you Prime Minister so that they can get the ground work started for the rest of the soldiers"

"Makes sense I agree"

Several hours later SEAL team five subgroup seven was in India and working with both the resistance and Indian forces

"Does anyone know who the leader of the good resistance is anyways?"

"Not really and unless you're part of the cell you hardly meet the leader"

"Cell? What cell?"

"The resistance that cooperates with us operates in cells, basically groups that have between fifteen and fifty people depending on the size of the area they are protecting and freeing in the country"

"Makes sense and unless you're part of the leader's cell it's rare to see the leader"

"Exactly, we mainly get plans for fighting or updates via correspondence, that's how we knew to ask for help in the first place"

"We understand, do you at least know if the leader is male or female?"

"Nope, only the Prime Minister does and she ain't talking"

"Understood, we'll get back to you guys once we have a basic plan before the regular troops get here"

They soon develop a potential fighting plan and then head out to get things started for the regular troops by going to one of the trouble areas and scouting potential enemy bases. When the regular troops arrived they already had locations to potentially bomb once they got confirmation and villages they could free from enemy control. This continued for six months before they got to an area that wasn't cooperating due to how much influence the enemy had in that specific area, however the resistance that was cooperating with the government was deeply entrenched in that area as well and they met up with that resistance cell led by one Sara Kerenai. Sara had escaped from her captors eight years previously but found she couldn't get out of the country due to the enemy starting to want to rebel against the Indian government, so instead she started gathering people loyal to India and prepared them to start fighting back once they openly declared their intention to take over the country. Three years later that had happened though the group had been slowing the traitors down for a year before that day due to subterfuge the traitors had tried. When the traitors openly declared war that's when Sara sent the first correspondence to the Indian Prime Minister declaring her intentions to help keep the Indian government under rightful rule, with that intent declared they were unofficially granted the right to be part of the Indian military which meant they could ask for their help whenever it was needed. The reason it was never official was just in case the traitors had managed to get people inside the higher up of the government, and the leader agreed. Over time it was discovered that the government approved resistance cells had been preparing for something like this for some time because they even sometimes gave the military weapons from their stockpile and also Intel gathered over the years. When the correspondences stopped for six months that worried the government until it was discovered that the base had been destroyed and they had moved for safety. Five years after the battles started the leader got the correspondence that open war had finally been declared that that the United States and other countries would be sending forces out to help deal with the rebels

_Six months earlier_

*Hey boss we got ourselves another correspondence from the Prime Minister*

*Let me see it*

The leader reads the correspondence and then has private thoughts before giving new orders

" _So I'll finally see people from home soon, I can't wait for that day it's been way too long_ " (out loud) *we have some great news, the Prime Minister has declared open war against the rebels at the UN meeting and countries have offered their support so don't attack anyone with a flag for the countries that I will be writing a list down*

That's exactly what the leader does and what each cell once they received the letter does, in fact they make sure that each country is welcomed into liberated downs with friendly faces and have places to sleep when needed. They also made sure to provide food whenever needed as well and of course Intel was given whenever they met

_Present time_

The SEAL team that Sara had been part of finally made it to her area on the anniversary of her "death" and that specific SEAL team always remembered her on that day even if they had never met her. They had made it to a town the night before and the next day one of the rebels who knew English said that the leader wanted to speak with them

"Fine, we'll go, it's just we always take a day of rest on this day to remember someone who was lost ten years ago, this team personally never met her but others did"

"Don't worry I don't think our leader is expecting you to fight today, in fact oddly enough she said that all she wanted to do was meet the unit helping free this area and offer lunch"

"Fine, we can do that"

They eventually make it to the resistance camp and the SEAL team is amazed at how deeply entrenched the group was in enemy territory. Now then all of them had seen pictures of Sara over the years but no picture had been taken for ten years and even whenever they age enhanced the photos they could never have expected Sara to be so drastically different due to her captivity and years of fighting. When the SEAL team first arrived the leader was looking over maps and speaking in the native language to a group of people

*Hey leader the UN forces are here, apparently they're Navy SEAL's from America*

*Just a minute...okay guys do you understand the mission?*

The group she was talking to nodded and then left. Once that was done Sara turned around and spoke in English to the surprise of the SEAL team

"Welcome to my humble abode, so are you the guys that will be helping to free this area?"

"Yes a team of Army Rangers are also coming as well but are at least a day behind us, and no they're not the Rangers most people see they're the Special Ops Rangers like us the Navy SEAL's"

"I'll meet with them tomorrow then I just wanted to start getting to know the people who are going to be working and if need be occasionally living with us. I understand from my sources that you will never fight on this day why's that?"

"Ten years ago this unit lost a valued team member and we never found out why they were lost. The President allows this unit a day of rest to remember her even though most teams have never met her, like us but we always honor her for her sacrifice"

"Let's eat, but first I wonder who was lost that is honored with a day of rest?"

"Sara Kerenai, amongst regular forces whenever she's in Navy SEAL mode Scoutfire"

"Guys, I'm Sara Kerenai, the soldier lost ten years ago in the battle for the Marianas, I surrendered to the enemy to stop the killing but I never expected to be gone for so long"

"Impossible Kerenai died due to a landmine, even if for a while it was questioned, besides you don't look like her even age enhanced photos don't make her look like...you"

And it was true Sara had scars all over her face, her hair was much shorter, her eyes were sunken in from way too many days without proper sleep and she was also slightly emaciated from too many days going without food. Due to something given to her during her time in captivity she had problems eating certain types of food and also certain amounts. Her eyes were also colder, harder, the eyes of a veteran that had seen and done more than her fair share. She basically looked like a dead person walking

"Yeah years of torture and not being able to properly eat will do that to you, also haven't really been getting sleep lately even though the rest of the groups have been trying to make sure I get a decent amount of sleep, I also have had the veteran eyes for a long time, but since I haven't had a break from battle in so long my eyes have become more like a veterans"

"Prove it's you then, your family would love to hear from you again I know it because every soldier who's apart of this unit meets your family, your  _entire_  family"

"Do you have a portable blood tester?"

"Yes, why?"

"I recently died and was revived by my team not forty-eight hours ago a special chemical produced due to death doesn't leave my system for seventy-two hours"

They do the blood test and low and behold that exact chemical was in her body confirming it was her

"But why haven't you tried to escape the country and come home, or at least make contact through the Indian government?"

"Simple for the first question I was their prisoner until about eight years ago but I discovered that they would prevent me from escaping. I then discovered their plans for take over. This group was stockpiling and preparing for this war for three years before the fighting actually started. As for the correspondence issue I knew the Prime Minister was trustworthy but unfortunately I just didn't know how closely watched the Prime Minister was or if there were traitors within the government so I could never get a message home to let them know I was alive"

"Well once we tell the proper authorities you have a new President to serve under"

"Works for me"

"And...I want you to be the leader of this unit from now on"

(Shakes her head) "I'm sorry but no, I don't know you guys and I've been away for so long I doubt I know proper procedure anymore due to how they change over the years. Once I get home and am declared fit for duty if that ever happens I will retrain and work from the bottom up if I have to"

"Understood, but I am still going to make sure the President and your family finds out your alive soon somehow, just need to figure out how"

Well the time for lunch was announced and the SEAL team was appalled at how little Sara was eating

"Why aren't you eating more you'll never sustain yourself if you eat like that"

"Unfortunately I don't have that much of a choice due to whatever they did to me during captivity" (snorts) "probably thought they could starve me to death but my body has adapted and while I am painfully underweight and might always be that way I am still alive and at least can eat solids again, which for two years after I freed myself was impossible"

"So you can't eat anymore than that"

"Exactly, and I also can't eat certain foods"

"Is there anything that can be done to help fix your diet deficiency?"

"Not sure, if there is it's probably only found in America for the moment"

"We'll work around that then, but for now we're still taking a day of rest because we have a lot to discuss to command"

"Okay but you guys are finishing your meal first"

"Makes sense, and now that we know where the base is we can come here to make plans and help you guys out if you ever need it"

A few days later Sara and her resistance cell would be forced to split up and escape from their place of hiding due to the enemy finding them and surrounding them by pure luck

*Separate and get to locations of safety, preferably free towns*

*What about you?*

*Don't worry I know where I'm going split up as much as possible*

Sara continues to ride once they all separate and then is hit by an arrow


	27. Chapter 27

*Shall I kill her sir?*

*No she's going to die anyways let her ride to her death, that arrow will kill her within the hour, faster if she keeps riding like she does*

Sara does keep riding hard and fast, eventually making it to the town that the Navy SEAL's and Army Rangers were in, the town alerted the two groups to a rider approaching hard and fast, which was strange because most people still used vehicles even if the roads weren't all that great. As the rider came closer they noticed that it was a female rider and that she was hurt, they also recognized the horse as one of the resistance horses

"It's one of Kerenai's resistance members come on they need immediate medical attention"

They run to the rider who had fallen of her horse and are shocked to see Sara as the wounded rider

"Sara, speak to us"

"They...found us...I made...sure that...the rest...escaped as...planned but...the forest...is now...too dan..."

Sara stops speaking and they bring her into the nearest building for immediate medical attention seeing as how she was still alive. Several hours later the two medics came out of the emergency hospital room

"Well she's still alive but we have to watch her closely over the next several days for signs of infection, that could kill her faster than anything else"

"We understand, how about you two get something to eat and then get some rest"

"Fine, everyone here knows basic field medicine due to training regimes so we should be fine with that until we're back up to performance mode"

"Exactly don't think I haven't noticed you guys trying to do what is said Kerenai can do, get food and rest, we'll wake you guys up if Sara wakes up or something happens that we can't handle"

Six hours later the medics were up as was Sara, but she wasn't making much sense since she was in the throes of a fever that just wasn't coming down despite everything they were trying

"Should we send for a medevac?"

"We might have to but if the forest is no longer safe as she said..."

"Yeah, they could be attacked, but if we wait too long we could lose her"

"Wait didn't we get a message that the Indian Army is only a few hours away from us by now?"

"Yeah, maybe we can hurry them up by an hour or two if we explain the situation to them"

"Or they might have solutions of their own to the problem"

"Okay then let's do it"

They eventually make contact with the Indian army and they did indeed have a few ideas and also would make sure Sara got back to American forces that had better equipment then what the field medics had on them

"Okay then thanks"

"They should be here soon, in the meantime they said that there should be a plant that the locals know of that will help her with the fever, it won't do much considering how long she's had the fever but it will help keep it under better control then what we have right now"

Eventually the Indian Army was there to help transport Sara to the nearest location that could take her to an American aircraft carrier

"We need her family, we can't do much either and whatever the locals gave her is wearing off, we're lucky that she's not allergic to whatever it is"

"We made sure of it"

Her family was there on the ship and gave her a special medication that slowed down a fever even more than the indigenous medicine, but not by much unfortunately

"We have to get her back to America and fast, otherwise the fever will rise extremely fast and she could die from the sudden rise in temperature"

About fifteen hours later they made it back to America and Sara's Cybertronian family. They put her into cryogenic suspension to allow her body to take care of itself whenever possible and keep her alive via suspended animation

"Let her sleep never be disturbed by war"

Sara slept for fifty long years, in that time period Sara's family was taken captive by the Quintessons and taken off earth but the Quintessons also left earth alone...at least for the moment. When Sara woke up she was surrounded by EDC officers who had been alerted to the cryogenic chamber shutting down, at first they thought something had gone wrong with the chamber so they were pleasantly surprised that it was Sara waking up

"Who are you?"

"We're EDC officers Lt. Kerenai"

"I see, where's captain Fairborne or my family?"

"Your family has been taken captive by the Quintessons, most likely a trade for leaving earth alone, captain Fairborne is dead, she died from cancer ten years ago"

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Fifty years, you've been in cryogenic suspension for fifty long years, it was the only way to save your life from an infection"

"India! I remember being in India fighting for them to remain free and then I was shot leaving the base I had been in for a very long time"

"India is still free, some time after you were put into cryogenic suspension the rebellion ended peacefully with the rebel leaders surrendering after realizing all they would do was tear the country apart by war"

"I'm glad"

Sara recovered and then just simply started enjoying life for a few weeks, waiting until she was strong enough to properly join the military though she was told she still retained the rank of Lt., and telling some people that they didn't know the true meaning of the word freedom

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, even those that have been in prison only have a basic understanding of freedom"

While she was saying that she was subconsciously rubbing her wrists

"Look you may talk good, but I do believe my dad  _does_  know the real meaning of the word freedom, he was in the state pen for ten years"

"That is  _nothing_  little girl, I know what true freedom means, at least he had three meals a day and was allowed to exercise out in the yard"

Her eyes suddenly became much, much colder than they remembered and her tone changed as well. Then suddenly her face changed to shock and her tone of voice changed again to a warning voice that told them it was best to listen to what she said to do

"Get inside, now!"

The kids run inside while Sara uses powers she hadn't used in a long time

"Arranyan winds!"

The winds took out several of the enemy but she knew she needed to do more

"Arranyan air ball!"

She kept fighting but was eventually forced to retreat underground like the rest of the people. Underground base that had been made years ago

"Okay now what do we do?"

"Simple, we fight back, we take down the enemy and free earth once more. Once this war is over you will learn the true meaning of the word freedom, I was a POW taken by terrorists for several years at different time periods, I was a Navy SEAL who was captured and now I can't be part of the military anymore unless I retrain for that"

"That's why you said we have no idea of the real meaning of the word freedom"

"Exactly, now then hand me the nearest gun you can find and I'll start securing our border from the enemy, oh and one more thing, don't try to do any knife tricks until you know how to safely use a knife will ya?"

With those parting words Sara brings out a switchblade, opens it and then flicks it into a wooden beam killing a snake

"Oh and that Black Racer is non venomous and our dinner tonight, someone who has any type of survival experience is to prep it for dinner"

"Okay two things you can't possibly believe that one little snake is going to feed us, and you are also not expecting us to actually eat that snake are you?"

"Yes on both accounts because that snake is expected to go into a stew, and if there's one Black Racer there are more so you need to find at least two more that same size

"Oh no there is no way I'm eating the snake"

"Then starve!"

That comment shocked everyone because it was sudden and unexpected

"I'm sorry to sound so cruel but you have to do what you have to do to survive, at least you can eat a normal amount of food I can't, and it's because of a time period of being a POW. At first I thought American medicine could help that issue but apparently even now it can't because I can't eat more than half a bowl on good days, and if I'm sick I can't eat anything but a few crackers every three hours or so, that's what it means to deal with hardships and be tortured, so eat it or go hungry I  _really_  don't care right now, all I care about is that this camp is safe for refugees"

With those words Sara leaves the compound without anyone saying a word

"Well looks like we have two choices, minus prepping the snake properly for food, we can either do as she says and get more snakes for the stew or we can starve"

Well a vote was taken and it was decided if Sara wanted to eat the snake fine she could eat the snake but everyone else would rather go hungry, because no one in the group was a military or EDC soldier, and none of them had survived something that forced them to eat things they might not want to eat otherwise so none of them understood the importance of what Sara had told them. When Sara came back she noticed the one snake being prepared for multiple meals and nothing else being done

"I assume this means you all want to go hungry"

"Exactly, we will not eat snake if we can help it, we will not eat anything caught out in the wild if we can help it, basically unless you give us normal food we won't eat it"

"Fine, if that's the way you want it then go right on ahead, I can't wait to see how long you guys last on that resolve before you decide to eat whatever I can scavenge. Oh and I will be teaching everyone seven and up how to use a rifle and pistol, trust me it's for everyone's protection I do this"

"Why so young?"

"I learned how to fight when I was four due to circumstances beyond my control, then when I was five Quintessons tried this very same thing for seven long years. Everyone at my camp learned how to fight after a certain age it just had to be that way. I don't like it anymore than you do but you have to do what you have to do to survive, oh and I will  _try_  to find meals ready to eat but I'm not making any promises and depending on how bad the situation is even if I find some they won't be a whole lot so you guys will still go hungry unless you start learning how to eat foods you've never eaten before"

Eventually Sara's meal was ready and while she was eating they talked about a kidnapping case that had happened pretty much to her as well except she had known sign language. It had happened during the three years of peace and had only lasted seven hours but it was seven hours too long

_Years earlier_

"Hello folks how are you today? We're looking for a fugitive and a kidnapped kid can all of you take off your sunglasses and hats?"

Everyone supposedly cooperates including Sara having been told if she said anything once they were out they would kill her. The officer looked into the back window and while Sara was saying she was their kid when the second officer continued to ask some standard questions Sara used police sign language for the first officer

*My name is Sara Kerenai, I have been kidnapped by these guys but they are threatening to kill me if I say anything so that is why I am using sign language and am hoping they don't notice this, let us go through so they don't suspect a thing unless you have anything solid against them now. Follow us via chopper or patrol unit just patrolling the area*

"Hey John, if there's nothing wrong why don't we let these folks go now"

"But..."

"Rookie, do what I say"

The rookie wanted to protest again except he got the subtle sign that there was a plan going on

"Fine, since I can't find anything you people are good to go"

They leave and the rookie officer asks his superior what was going on

"Sir, why did you just let them leave I had a few more questions, besides they were acting fishy"

"Simple, the kid in the back is Sara Kerenai, the kid we're looking for and she said follow them via chopper or patrol unit, she seems to understand better than we do just how dangerous they are"

"So how are we going to  _stop_  them?"

"Don't know, but we'll figure something out"

As it turned out they got something on them not three hours after the checkpoint. The criminals got a bit panicky when there was a DUI (Driving Under Influence) checkpoint and they ran through said checkpoint thus making the police chase after them for not stopping at a checkpoint. Everyone was taken out at gunpoint and when the state police were told who the kid was they instantly let the proper authorities know so that she could get a ride home

_Present_


	28. Chapter 28

Sara finishes eating and realizes the time

"Look let's just try and get some sleep tonight and I'll start the training tomorrow morning, don't worry due to circumstances I will wake up at the slightest noise outside so everyone can rest easy tonight. However once I have people trained we're going to be doing patrol shifts so that no one person is taking the entire duty of protecting the place"

That night Sara was indeed woken up suddenly and grabbed the nearest weapon, which happened to be a bo staff due to the fact that the place they were staying in was a martial arts dojo. When she went outside she got a pleasant surprise, two EDC officers and a Marine who had managed to escape being captured and had waited until dark to try and find another place to stay that would be safe. Earlier that day Sara had been elected as the group leader due to her being able to properly fight so she could decide who came and who went, and also decided if the group was too big and needed to be split up but considering all she had was thirty civilians with her she gladly accepted the help

"Welcome to my little place of resistance, I must ask if any of you are fit for guard duty, I normally would not have been sleeping only to wake at the slightest disturbance but my energy is completely spent right now"

The Marine was the one to speak up

"I'm the only one physically fit enough, I was on furlough when all of this went down, I ran into these two trying to break into my garage, we hid in my basement until dark and have been trying to find a place to stay that would be safer than my place and it looks like we found it"

"Okay, I have some rifles here that we can use"

"Great, but um, just in case this ever comes up what could you have done with a bo staff against our enemies?"

"Well depending on the enemy not much on it's own, however the EDC and I have been experimenting since I was awoken in this time period and we've discovered I can channel the powers I was born with into inanimate objects making the weapons much more powerful than if they were simply that weapon, though we dare not try it with a gun since a gun is already so powerful"

"Understood, now then where's the rifle and I'll take guard tonight and will help you train others as well since I am sure that's something you want to do"

"Just a moment"

She gets the rifle and hands it to the Marine who then takes a very good position that wouldn't allow him to be seen easily but would give him a good advantage to shoot from. The next morning everyone was surprised to see more mouths to feed but no one complained...yet

"So did you three bring any food with you?"

"None, we had to leave our day time hiding place at night and we found this place by luck"

"Great another day without food"

Sara speaks up

"You three can have the rest of the Black Racer, I'll see if I can find something that's bigger and will actually make a decent meal for you three seeing as how I  _still_  can't eat that much food"

"The EDC still hasn't found a solution to that problem?"

"Nope and I think I know why too, while my family helped greatly with medicine unfortunately this poison was a very rare poison, no known antidote all you can do is hope that the person survives the symptoms, which I did and once with the military again hoped the family would be able to help. If not for the second poisoning they might have been able to find a solution until they had to cryo me, but the family also got themselves caught for the good of the planet so we still have no solution"

"Understood, try and bring us some vegetables too if you can"

"Will do, and guys if you can't handle eating vegetables you are still going hungry seeing as how you refuse to eat freshly caught meat"

"That's because it's food we've never had before and we refuse to eat it"

"Fine be that way like I said the night before starve if you want"

The two EDC officers and the one Marine quickly understood that this had been something discussed the night before and she needed to talk to the three of them after meal time. After breakfast the four of them went to a private area in the dojo to talk

"So what was up with the breakfast thing?"

(Sighs) "I'm afraid that it isn't half as bad as what went on last night, when I killed the Black Racer I told them to prep it so that we could eat it in a stew and to try and catch more since one snake wouldn't be enough, when they refused I told them to at least prep it properly so that I could eat it over the next couple of days without getting sick and that they would eventually have to eat what I caught if they didn't want to starve to death, but they don't believe me"

"None of them have been forced into a survival situation have they?"

"Nope and unfortunately they're about to learn several lessons the hard way, I just don't have time to teach them what they need to know nicely"

"Like learning how to shoot and how to be observant"

"Exactly, and if they seem to like it I might also teach them a few things with knives as long as they can do so safely"

"Why teach them knife tricks?"

"Oh these aren't any ordinary knife tricks, these tricks could save your life, of course for one of the tricks it helps to have a kind of second sense of the battlefield around you, so I might not teach that one to any of the people I teach how to deal with knives but other things will definitely be handy"

"Your choice Kerenai, now then are you going to be on patrol tonight along with us two EDC officers?"

"Yes I am"

Over the next several weeks Sara trained people how to shoot along with the Marine, who had finally told her his rank of Gunnery Sergeant, and also his last name as well just in case she ever needed to say it. They also manage to stockpile more weapons so that more people  _could_  fight if need be and there had been a few skirmishes during the training period. One day there was a battle like normal when Sara made an odd request for a bo staff

"Why would you need a bo staff?"

"Give me the staff now explanations later"

"Fine"

Sara grabs the bo and then starts wielding it in a strange way that none had seen her wield before, though since no one knew how a bo staff was handled that was a moot point, and this time she spoke in Cybertronian so that no one but the enemy could understand her

*Take this Quintessons Arranyan air cutter*

She swept the bo in front of her and as if the wind itself cut the enemy several of them went down cut in half, Sara also used her Arranyan earthquake with the bo staff and it acted a bit differently with the weapon then just her hands, because not only did the ground shake but the cracks it created underneath the enemy were a lot wider than she was used to

"Wow wasn't expecting that effect"

Eventually the enemy retreated once again

"All right everyone knows the routine by now, take care of the injured and the two that are the most awake are to take watch tonight, I'm wiped"

"Say how did you fight the enemy with just the bo staff and also just your hands and arms and whatever else you said?"

"I was born with powers guys that's how, I used my powers in battle, now then since we're all pretty much tired get food and then rest, tomorrow we'll start planning an attack on the nearby power plant"

"But no one's succeeded in freeing that power plant"

"Then we'll be the first but we have to start some where's, simply keeping this area of town free isn't going to cut it, there are bound to be multiple resistance groups and the more areas we free the less work resistance groups have to do and maybe we can help the official military start up again underground so that America is freed that much faster"

"We've been doing perfectly fine these past few weeks if I say so myself"

"In some aspects yes we have been doing perfectly fine however in others we haven't...look we're going to try and free the plant and that's final, Gunny, did you by  _any chance_  specialize in scouting?"

"Indeed I did Lt. I was a Marine recon sniper"

Sara whistles at hearing that knowing  _exactly_  what kind of training he had to go through to become a recon sniper

"Dang you're good then, okay try and get to the power plant and observe them for a few days, if at any time you feel your position compromised you're to leave and head to checkpoint charlie and try and get word to me that you're there is that understood soldier?"

"Yes sir perfectly understood"

The Marine leaves and everyone except the EDC officers look at Sara strangely

"Why did you have to speak in code?"

"Simple the EDC officers, Marine and I went over the maps we have and started making some potential plans with them, however we also realized we can't reveal everything to you guys even with your training so we decided to give certain locations area codes so that the four of us know what we're talking about but you don't"

"So you don't trust us even after all the training you've given us"

"Sorry but considering that over the past three weeks I have turned away seven people simply because I felt I couldn't trust them has to mean something to you guys and yes I trust you enough to guard us at night for now but if you do anything stupid you lose that trust, and by the way someone has to go hunting for our meal tonight because I got full watch tonight so I can't do it"

One of the newer refugees mutters under his breath

"Still can't believe we're eating that stuff"

"What was that?"

"I said, I'll do it with someone helping me"

"That's what I thought you said"

For the next four days the recon sniper was away but on the fifth day he came back with his report. Once they heard everything about the plant that they could get, they started making attack plans. Finally they had everything finalized except for one thing

"If something happens to me you're in charge of the group Gunny, and I want you to immediately retreat and find another location to base yourselves in, hopefully you'll be able to join another resistance group but if not I know you can handle finding another base of operations"

"But Lt. I..."

"That's an  _order_  Marine, am I understood?"

The Gunny grits his teeth at those words fully understanding it's implications

"Yes sir"

"Good, now then I'm taking first watch tonight so let's hope dinner is getting prepped by now"

Well a younger member of the resistance overheard the last part of the conversation and went over to the Marine to ask him a question using his rank as a name since neither he nor the EDC officers had ever given their real names to the group just in case something should happen to them or the camp was ever captured

"Gunny, why did she emphasize she was giving you an order and used your military branch?"

"She was making sure I understood the importance of her instructions Mary that's all" (thinks) " _I was also being instructed to make sure the team is always being cared for with that emphasis on it being an order if I didn't know any better I'd almost say she knows something's going to happen to her the day of battle but since I can't prove that I can't confront her about it_ "

The day of the battle quickly arose and things started off okay, they were making great progress and hadn't lost that many people despite overwhelming odds, when suddenly their leader went into a room and then raised her right hand and moved it to the right. No one could get into the room

"Lt. we have to come in"

"No! I need you to sound the retreat now, this room is going to go up and eventually take the whole place with it"

"But Lt..."

"Remember your orders Gunnery Sergeant Mendoza"

"Yes sir, we will retreat"

The Gunny sounds the retreat and everyone retreats getting out to the hillside and looking back just as the building did indeed collapse

(Sighs) "I think it's best we get back to base and then leave, we'll try and find a new home with another resistance group but if not we'll make our own home some where's safe"

"Okay why did she ask you to remember orders?"

"She was reminding me of my duties as a soldier that's why"

"So where now?"

"We do as I said earlier we get essentials from the old place and then try and find a new one"

Gunny leads the group back to the old place and makes sure they were quick and grabbed  _only_  the essentials, once that was over they left the building and with one look back Gunny made a promise

"Don't worry Kerenai I will make sure the resistance stays safe and grows, even if we have to join another group to do so I will keep my word"

Meanwhile Sara wasn't dead instead she was a captive of her greatest enemy the Quintessons, they had taken her just after the explosion had knocked her out and no one had known because of her orders to get out of the building. And that's when she got a very nice surprise

"Sara are you okay?"

"Prowl, are the others with you?"

"Yes everyone's here though separated"

"We'll get out of this somehow I promise, though my group can't do so due to the fact that they probably think me dead"

"Big explosion?"

"Yep and I gave them orders to leave before the power plant collapsed on them, so EDC told me when I woke up about you surrendering to protect earth"

"Yeah well considering how close they came after the whole India incident we figured it was best to surrender than risk earth because of low manpower"

"Say how long did that last after you put me into cryogenic suspension?"

"Five years, and with heavy losses"

"No wonder you felt like you had to surrender for the safety of earth"

"Exactly several militaries were devastated and those that weren't knew they weren't strong enough to fight them, so at a special meeting of the UN everyone discussed ways for earth to survive without us having to surrender but we simply surrendered anyways because we knew that they just simply wouldn't be able to handle the stress of interrogating multiple people into multiple military's with different languages fast enough, we left one final message for earth telling them why we were surrendering to our enemies and then we surrendered saving earth for however long it's been"

"Fifty years, earth had fifty years of peace and I woke up in that peaceful time briefly"

"How briefly?"

"A few weeks"

"That's not very long"

"True but it gave me enough time to properly start recovering and getting my strength back, oh and you guys accidentally made me pretty much immortal I can't age at all due to the chemicals used in cryogenic suspension"

"Sorry about that"

"No worries that means I can serve the military as long as I live and in an active part too unless they decide to promote me to a desk and even then I'll most likely be able to go out into the field when I feel it's necessary"

"Well you need to recover for now I overheard them saying after they knocked you out they drugged you and if you can't feel it I can see it due to a scan I just did"

"Don't worry I can tell I've been drugged but for now since there's not much I could do anyways I just deal with it and will hope it wears off soon"

Over the next three months Sara tried to figure out a way to get her entire family out of Quintessonian hands but so far couldn't. Meanwhile the group Sara had started due to several people going into the dojo in the first hours of the attack, and the Marine she had left in charge were in a new location and actually doing pretty well for themselves. For the first month with a new leader they had stayed with another established group but when the base was almost discovered due to a traitor the two groups split up and went their separate ways wishing the other group well

"Gunny when will we be doing another supply raid?"

"Not sure, but hopefully soon, right now I have a scout trying to figure out our best target, and at least we are starting to have normal military soldiers back in the game and they are protecting the nearby town that we free just last month"

Three hours later his scout came in panting like they had been running hard and fast which they had been because of the pictures they took

"Gunny you're not going to believe these pictures I've gotten"

Gunny looks at the pictures and is indeed shocked


	29. Chapter 29

"These guys surrendered almost fifty years ago, how can they be on earth now?"

"Maybe the Quintessons decided to bring them back to show how weak we are without them"

"Maybe, okay we're going to the prison camp instead we have Cybertronians to rescue"

"Wait he got pictures of the Cybertronians, the same Cybertronians who surrendered almost fifty years ago so that earth would remain safe after the whole deal with India, those Cybertronians?"

"Yep those Cybertronians"

"Yeah we're freeing them when given the opportunity, our leader would have done the same huh?"

"Yes she would have, and yes I know we all still miss her after all it's only been three months but we have a chance to do major damage if we free her family"

"Then let's do it"

The resistance starts making plans while Sara and her family also start making escape plans, coincidentally the plans would happen on the same day and Sara had decided to use everything to their advantage so if there was a group that tried to free them they would use that as cover to escape and then they would join said group

"Works for us Sara, now come on you need to eat and let's hope you don't have another allergy attack"

"We lucked out that the enemy still wants me alive, yeah let's hope that's the case alright"

Two days later both groups finalized there plans for the evening. The resistance group made their attack first and Sara and her family used that to their advantage, they quickly got outside and started helping the resistance group. Sara even managed to save three resistance members at once with her powers after having separated to help the battle as planned with her family

"Arranyan shock-wave!"

The Quintessons eventually gave up the concentration camp to the resistance and that's when the group found out who exactly helped out, with the Gunny's help of course

"Kerenai you're alive!"

"Gunny, so my original group with new additions are the ones who helped save us"

"Exactly and I am now turning command back over to you"

"Sorry Gunny but since it's been a while I think it's best if I'm second in command while you still lead, oh by the way we're joining your group, well me and five others the rest of my family is splitting up and seeing who they can join so that we can finally start to really take care of the Quintesson problem"

"Very well I guess I have no other choice, let's hope that with your family free this war doesn't last too long because I don't know what we'll do if it does"

"I know what you mean, losing me must have hit morale pretty hard, and even though I'm back now the longer people fight the lower the morale will be"

"Exactly, so let's hope we can end this war quickly now that we have your family helping us out"

They start fighting back with vigor and it turned out that with the Cybertronians in battle the war only lasted a year since they were so used to fighting the Quintessons they knew just what to do to beat them at their own game. Once that was over Sara quickly regained her status as the only person qualified to serve every branch of the armed forces and the special operations groups as well, and she was also trained for civil services as well and seeing as how combat medic transferred easily into Paramedic skills Sara didn't really have to learn that much for that civil service, just how to insert an IV on the move and a few other things that combat medics didn't have to learn. Sara and a few others were on a Marine base that needed some supplies that weren't in stock so she and a few others went into town to get the supplies and on the way back they were stopped because of a fire

"Guys, find another way back to base and tell the commander about the fire and that I'm going to be helping out, he'll know what you are talking about I promise"

Sara gets out of the car

"Now get out of here now, before that fire spreads"

"But..."

"No buts, who has rank here?"

"Yes Lt."

Sara went over to the fire chief and was told to get a spare coat on

"Hey wait a minute, can I see those plans a sec chief?"

"Sure don't see why not"

Sara looks at the plans and quickly realizes something

"I know this building!"

"Really? I didn't think anyone knew this building with just the plans it's that old"

"I helped design this building so of course I know it, there have been a few additions over the years but the basic layout is still the same. Are there people still trapped in there?"

"Yes, including five firefighter's, we're going to lose them if we don't do something fast"

"Okay, there's an underground passage way in all of these rooms that I'm going to be pointing too, get the people into one of these rooms and I'll take care of the rest"

So that's exactly what they do. Everyone gets into one of the rooms and waits for whatever plan was going on. While the firefighters were gathering everyone into the one room Sara had gone to a very different sewer grate that had been specified as to be left alone and went into the special underground tunnels that Sara had made sure to be put in for just such an occasion and realized that people were going to have to learn about the passageways for future references in case she couldn't be there herself. Finally she made it to the one room and when the firefighters saw the floor open up they grabbed the tile and saw Sara

"Okay everyone follow me to safety"

They finally get out of the building and a few hours later the fire was finally under control. Once that happened Sara talked to the chief about the passageways that were under the building

"I would suggest to the building manager to add the passages as part of the fire drills so that what happened this time doesn't happen again"

"Kerenai I know that you were in cryogenic suspension but just how old  _are_  you, because that building is over seventy years old"

"Well I'm technically in my thirties but I was indeed in cryogenic suspension for fifty years so I'm much older than what my ID says, now then all that's left is to get a ride to base and I'll be good to go"

"One of my men can take you in his personal car, he works here part time and was actually the one who called it in"

"Works for me"

Sara finally gets to base and is told to report to the base commander which she did indeed do

"So care to tell me what took you so long?"

"Sorry sir had to evac firefighters and civilians and by the time that was done the blaze was so intense they needed every person they got especially because the trapped firefighters were sent to the hospital for various injuries. I was released when we were told the fire was finally under control"

"Very well I want a report on that fire as soon as possible so that we can see if any of it can be used in training our people"

"Yes sir"

That night Sara was given new orders before the rest of her unit but considering what those orders were it was understandable

"Do you understand your orders soldier?"

"Yes sir I understand my orders and will carry them out as quickly and effectively as possible, but sir if I fail go to the Jousfire dojo and ask for Semura-sensei when she asks you which way does the wind blow you are to answer back wherever the wind wishes to blow she'll give further instructions from there and if she asks anything else don't reply and get out of there"

"Why and how would she know how to ask that question to us?"

"Simple you're going to be in military uniforms whenever you go to the dojo and Semura-sensei is a very unique sensei that has a special job at the dojo, as for the why I can't tell you that due to how sensitive the information is"

Sara leaves while the base commander is looking up exactly what Jousfire dojo taught and why it was called that. Three weeks later the rest of the unit was to get a new assignment as a unit but they noticed Sara wasn't there

"Wait a minute if we're going to Africa to deal with some issues there that are interesting to us where's our Lt?"

"Don't know she was given an assignment three weeks ago and I haven't heard from her since, I have been hoping that she would report in but she hasn't and I haven't received any calls that she's in hospital either so I am very close to declaring her MIA"

They continue to discuss mission details when the base commander got a phone call and dropped the phone suddenly after hearing a brief message

"Sir are you alright?"

"Yes...I just need to go some where's, oh and Lt. Kerenai is officially MIA now, I just got that call"

The base commander leaves and heads to the Jousfire dojo

"Excuse me but could I see Semura-sensei?"

Semura-sensei comes out and the base commander sees she's about fifty years old and very experienced when she sees the uniform she does indeed ask the question he was told she might ask

"which way does the wind blow?"

"wherever the wind wishes to blow"

"Follow me there's something you need to see"

The base commander follows the sensei and they go to a small room and then enter through a book case which leads to a larger room which is decked out in technology

"What is this place?"

"This is the base of the American resistance force"

"But why is there a resistance force when we're free?"

"Because we might not always be, you see when earth was freed just over a year ago now thanks to the help of the Cybertronians the President realized that there were enemies out there that might want to try and take over America again or even the entire world so he met up with Lt. Kerenai and authorized the existence of a reserve resistance group that can only be activated in the case of her disappearance, we are authorized to go any where's in the world to look for possible places she might be held captive and can bring that information to you or the proper authorities in the area, which means we either have to know the language or make sure that there are translators with us"

"And seeing me in uniform activated the reserve resistance"

"Exactly it told me that you had been told she's MIA and that means we need to start stepping up and try to find her while also preparing for possible trouble"

"I understand, are there networks all over the country like this?"

"Yes there are and I can't tell you where for your safety and there's"

"I understand I must get back to base now but it's good to know that there are people watching our backs in case of trouble"

The commander gets back to base and is told Kerenai's unit left without her and without him telling the group they were dismissed from his office


	30. Chapter 30

"It's okay they have an important mission to accomplish and they didn't have time for me to come back for now let's just make sure that the rest of the unit's are ready at a moment's notice because if my best unit is being called out there can only be trouble"

"Why's that sir?"

"Don't you know your history, Kerenai's unit is the best of the best and for a reason no matter which branch she's serving in she always makes sure to get the job done, as do her units"

He goes back to his office to get paperwork done and wishes the resistance and Kerenai's unit luck. Meanwhile Sara was  _not_  happy, the enemy somehow knew about her powers which meant she couldn't escape by becoming intangible and her wrists and ankles were starting to chaff because of the chains. She thought back to a year earlier when she had met the President right after the war with the Quintessons had ended and he was sworn back in as President

_One year earlier_

"You wished to see me before I retrained Mr. President?"

"Yes Lt. Kerenai I did, listen starting with your cell I want certain resistance groups to remain in active reserve, there's a reason for it, the resistance groups were great at helping free and keep free America and the rest of the planet and I want them to still be able to help, they'll stay in the shadows and only monitor situations depending on a rotating schedule for that area, only me, you, or someone you send as proxy can activate the resistance cells in the country and when they are activated they have the authority to go all over the world to track down trouble, or to find you if you go missing and the mission is dangerous enough you decide they'll be needed in the case of your disappearance, what do you say?"

"I agree Mr. President, but it's going to take a while for all the trusted cells to get activated and ready for such an assignment"

"I know which is why you're going to spend the next year retraining for both military and civil service for everything you used to be able to do, I want you qualified for everything you can qualify for because I have a feeling you might just need that kind of training in the years to come"

"Will do sir, and you're right a year should be able to allow the groups to be truly ready for when the call comes"

"Okay then for the area you'll be assigned once your training is finished I want you to pick out the location that will be the main resistance base unless forced to be moved and it has to be a place no one would suspect because it makes sense that the location would have the things the location would have"

"I understand sir"

And with the choosing of the dojo Sara had chosen the perfect location because it made sense that there would be weapons for the more advanced students

_Present_

"I know the resistance will be activated soon I know it, I will be declared MIA soon due to not reporting in after so long I can wait a little longer, they'll find me"

Sara was interrupted in her rant by her captures bringing both food and a fellow prisoner, this person was part of the French Foreign Legion as his uniform signified

"Maybe you two can get along long enough for our demands to be met, or we might just kill you who knows, but for now your cell mates"

The people left and once Sara was sure she and the officer was alone she started the conversation

*How were you captured?*

*How do you know French you're an American soldier from what little is left of that uniform*

*Yes but I'm a linguist which is important for the military I know practically all the languages of the world, and no I can't tell you how because that's a little complicated and classified*

*I was on patrol with my unit when we were ambushed what about you?*

*Due to unique circumstances I was on a solo scout mission when I was captured I've been here for a while now, don't know how long specifically but enough time that I've most likely been declared MIA due to no contact to the proper people*

*That should happen to me soon enough as well, do you know where we are anyways?*

*No they blindfolded me whenever I was moved around, you?*

(Sighs) *I have no clue either they did the same until I entered the building which doesn't have any windows by the way*

*I understand well hopefully people from America will be searching for us soon and we'll be found*

*How do you know this?*

*Trust me I just know it's something that I can't tell anyone without proper security clearance or authority, if you ever need to know which you might depending on who rescues us I'll tell you*

While the two soldiers waited for rescue Sara's unit had dealt with the issue in Africa and were waiting for further orders when an Army unit went over to them

"Hey guys we just got orders to team up with you on a weapons raid in a nearby area"

"Fine, say who's the civilian with you?"

"Don't know we were just told to take him with us to the new area"

"Fine, say have you by any chance heard if Lt. Sara Kerenai has joined up with another unit by now?"

"Nope, we don't have the Lt. either"

That's when the civilian speaks up

"There's a reason for that, Lt. Sara Kerenai has yet to be freed and the weapon raid area is where she's being taken captive along with what we believe is a French Foreign Legion officer"

"Wait what do you mean by being freed? Where's our Lt.?"

"She's a prisoner of a terrorist group that wants to do things to America, and if we're right for some odd reason they're taking prisoners from any country that gets too close if we did indeed see a French Foreign Legion soldier taken into the building"

"Night time raid maybe?"

"Yeah that should work, how does the civilian know all of this anyways?"

They turn to the civilian

"I just do, don't ask because you need a very high security clearance to know more about me and the rest of the group than what you do know right now, oh and by the way you still need me if you want to know the exact building they're in"

"He has a point, okay but we do still need to also search for weapons as well"

"Hm, maybe we can do something else, the people of Africa are afraid of these terrorists and what they can do to them I can tell in their inflections whenever they speak and I know the language because my father immigrated from Africa in his later teen years after my grandparents were killed, he actually had family living in America at the time and they took him in. My father taught me the language should I ever decide to visit a place where my father lived, we could do a daytime raid for the weapons while evacuating the town and then at night we do another raid and try and find the soldiers"

"No we have to do it all at once they are that organized Marine"

"Okay I have the rank of Sergeant I know you didn't know that until now but could you call me by my rank from now on?"

"No problem Sergeant, as I was saying they are that organized Sergeant, they have regular patrols and one of the other men searching for Kerenai was almost caught because the terrorists notice anything out of place"

"Okay then scrap that plan it will have to be done at night all at once but you have to show us the building before then so we don't accidentally bomb the place and kill the two"

"No problem we have that much at least, but I thought you wanted to evacuate the civilians before doing the raid"

"Can't anymore if they're that observant the terrorists would notice the evacuation and make things more difficult, but I think I have another way of limiting civilian casualties"

"Oh?"

"Yep, warn the innocent civilians as much as possible and hopefully they can spread the word and be able to do something to keep themselves safe while not being able to evacuate to safety"

"Okay let's do that and then when nightfall comes we do the attack plan"

"Right, that gives us what about thirteen hours since we'll be doing it tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds about right"

"Okay then let's do it"

They do exactly that and the next night they raided several buildings including the one with Sara and the French Foreign Legion soldier

"Lt. Kerenai we heard you were MIA then a civilian said you were taken captive but he didn't say exactly how he knew that"

"Talk later escape now, oh do you know French or does anyone else know French?"

"Nope why?"

"This is a French Foreign Legion soldier and speaks only French, so I guess I'm playing translator"

She turns to the other soldier


	31. Chapter 31

*This Sergeant is part of my Marine unit we're getting out of here and then hopefully we can get you back to your base quickly*

*Agreed let's do it Lt.*

They escape the building but then tragedy struck, the French Foreign Legion officer took a bullet for Sara and the Sergeant and was felled. They grabbed the body and then made a full retreat

"We're taking him back to his people, he died to save me and the Sergeant"

"Who is he?"

"A French Foreign Legion soldier I will not let his sacrifice be in vain and he  _will_  be taken home I made that promise and I'm going to keep it"

Sadly they were still under heavy attack and they lost the body of the French Foreign Legion soldier but Sara still wanted the tags to be taken back at the very least

"I couldn't keep my silent promise of bringing his body back but I will bring his tags back so that they have something to remember him by"

"Fine, the nearest base should be about six miles from here"

"Then let's go, but let's also still be on the alert, Mark what of the resistance back home? I know for a fact that if you're activated that means I was declared MIA what orders do you have?"

"Find you and then make sure some of our people are active in DC near the White House considering what your mission was for you to have disappeared for almost two months is not a good thing, and by the way that two months after being declared MIA after three weeks into your original mission and two weeks after  _he_  lost contact with you"

"I understand get back to America with all possible speed once we get back to base I can't because my unit and I are still needed here you on the other hand are a civilian and thus can leave once the transport plane arrives"

"Understood any other orders sir?"

"None, all other orders are to come from section leader or  _him_  until or unless I return"

"Yes sir, so which way is the French Foreign Legion base because if we need to go there first I suggest we get going because it's going to be daylight soon and that means the enemy is going to probably be more active once word of what's happened here gets out"

About an hour later they were stopped in front of the gate guarding the French Foreign Legion base

*Who goes there?*

Sara being the only one knowing French speaks up

*United States Army and Marines returning identification tags of a fallen soldier, one who was also taken prisoner like me, he died saving my life and a Sergeant's. We tried to return his body as well but the enemy still attacked and we lost his body in the skirmish that followed and were unable to find the body again, however we do have his tags and I wished to bring back something for him to have a proper funeral if possible and also something for him to be remembered by*

*What's your name soldier?*

*Lt. Sara Kerenai currently of the United States Marines*

*Thank you Lt. Kerenai I will take the tags and then I suggest you be on your way we've heard of your disappearance Lt. and we know that it's important you personally report back in as soon as possible, I acknowledge that you did your best to bring back his body as well what of his unit?*

*From what he told me his unit was all killed and then left to rot, he was the only one taken captive due to being separated from the rest of the unit during battle and being taken by surprise when he was getting more ammunition for his weapon*

*We understand, again thanks for bringing back his tags at the very least, you have done well now like I previously stated go home and report in so that you are no longer declared missing, besides who knows if the base will be attacked*

With those words Sara tells the group that they could get back to base now and get back to base they did, and when the base commander saw Sara bruised, beaten, dirty and tired he ordered her to medical where afterwords he would get a full report

"Yes sir, and sir we have issues to talk about once I am cleared by medical"

"What kind of issues Lt.?"

"Er, the kind that if I don't report said issues it could be catastrophic for the military and quite possibly the American government depending on who does and doesn't get the information in time"

(Sighs) "I get the feeling that I'm not going to like these issues am I?"

"No sir you're not and I so wish I wasn't the one telling you this but I am so oh well"

Sara was cleared for some desk duty only for three days while she recovered from dehydration and exhaustion because for whatever reason they never starved her, then again since she could never eat as much as she wanted after the one poison while she had been a POW long ago and the government  _still_  didn't know how to fix that, there wasn't that much of a problem. Since all she had to deal with were two issues that were easily taken care of with some light duty for a few days Sara wasn't sent home on medical leave and was back on patrol soon enough

"Okay let's stop here for a bit"

"What for?"

"We need EOD" (Explosives Ordinance Disposal) "to check out a bus that's never been here before I don't want us to be booby trapped so close to base"

"Because that could mean more booby traps in the future?"

"Either that or them figuring out where our new location is, look let's just get EOD up here to deal with the situation and then continue on patrol"

They do exactly that though during the battle Sara left the safety of the vehicle and the rest of the team was forced to follow her

"Uh did she just do what I think she did?"

"Yep"

"So now we have to..."

"Exactly"

(Sighs) "I guess we'd best get on it then, forward into battle then guys because Kerenai is not going to face another enemy alone after having just gotten her back"

The battle lasted two hours while EOD took care of the bus which was indeed rigged to blow with a pressure point but finally the troops finished patrol and then safely made it back to base

"So how long will we be in Africa?"

"As long as it take to restabilize the area, unfortunately no one really knows how long that's going to take so we could be here a while"

"What about the Cybertronians?"

"Sorry but they can't get involved right now, there are strict rules regarding their involvement and we haven't met any of the requirements yet" (in Cybertronian under her breath) *and I highly doubt we ever will if the enemy keeps doing what it's doing. Mariana Islands was an exception that doesn't happen very often*

"So about that meeting that was in private soon after you were released from medical what was that all about? I mean you never request a private meeting with base commanders"

"Sorry but that's between me, him and those he reports to"

"But surely you..."

The conversation stops when the unit realizes that Sara had a very cold dark look in her eyes. A look that they had never seen before even in the midst of battle and that scared them badly


	32. Chapter 32

"No matter how much I may wish to reveal what was discovered I can't because of how classified the information now is. If you are meant to learn you will learn and not before, I know you don't like this because as part of my unit you have pretty high security clearances by necessity but it is what it is is that understood?"

"Yes Kerenai it's understood we will speak of this no more"

They continued patrols and kept themselves up to date on their physical fitness. One day Sara and the rest of the unit were simply sitting eating lunch when Sara got a great idea

"Hey guys, I know it's been a while but I was wondering how you guys would feel about how doing a sparring match, it will be a round robin event winner gets their equipment cleaned for them after the next two patrols"

Only the next patrol and we're agreed"

"Sorry next two because I was thinking of the entire base not on patrol doing this, I already asked the base commander and have his permission, but he said the rest of my unit has to be in on it for this to be announced to the entire base because we're the best of the best by force"

"Fine, so after lunch is it?"

"At least an hour though so that our food has proper time to digest"

Finally the tournament started and the rules were explained. It had been decided by Kerenai's unit that they would hide their true strength so that they didn't sweep the competition unfairly because they had to be stronger than most. As the competition continued many were beaten and Sara's unit would also be beaten until finally it ended with Sara and a new recruit who had a martial arts background and thus could fight against Sara and her unit much better than most though they didn't know that

"Well good job getting this far tell me have you fought against anyone else from my unit?"

"Indeed I did and I must say both of us didn't go all out because you may not know this but I am a martial arts master in my own right, they didn't have to hold back but since I wasn't sure about your unit until right after the battle I didn't know to let him go all out like I am requesting of you"

"If you want all out then let's go all out, though I must warn you that you might be completely exhausted by the end of it if that's the case"

"You might be as well I once went up against an EDC training robot as a warm up at a competition right before I went into the Marines and I was one level below full power"

"Okay you're good because I am full power and the only person alive to be that strong"

"Then let's do it"

The fight between the new recruit and Sara was  _epic_  the two of them went all out and the fight was fast and lasted a good twenty minutes and only ended when Sara used an unexpected move against the rookie forcing him to surrender

"Okay Lt. Kerenai you win I am not good enough for you"

"Hey considering I have mastered all the styles of martial arts you did quite well for yourself"

"I thank you for that comment then"

"Well looks like someone has to take care of my equipment for the next two patrols"

"Looks like that's me because of the fact that I'm the one who ultimately lost to you"

"OK then well for now I think we need to just take a break I'm not on patrol until later tonight anyways so that should allow me to fully regain my strength"

"Yeah I think the only reason we aren't breathing hard is because of our martial arts training but my legs are trembling from exhaustion as are yours I assume Lt."

"Yes they are, well then I vote we sit here until it all resolves itself"

"So Lt. before we can move again how long did it take you to master all the styles of martial arts to the point that you can go up against the training robot at full power?"

"Several years but there were also some extenuating circumstances that forced me to learn how to fight from an early age"

"Ah, as for me I got into my martial arts from a young age after seeing my father use that style once. I was five when a gang came at dad with a knife and tried to kill him, he used his martial arts to keep them at bay until the police arrived and arrested them for attacking dad. The next day I asked to learn martial arts as well and he took me to the dojo where  _he_  had learned to defend himself and I've been taking lessons ever since...well at least until I decided to join the Marines but by that time I was already a black belt and could afford to leave the dojo and strike out on my own"

"Yeah, that was somewhat different from me due to said circumstances, though I bet your martial arts background enhanced the hand to hand combat training you got"

"Yeah the instructors told me that I had to hold back as much as possible so that I didn't accidentally hurt someone who was unused to defending themselves in such a way"

"I could see that happening, due to how strong I am I naturally hold back my full strength unless I know for sure that my opponents can take it"

"I know what you mean, I always have to hold back myself unless it's at a martial arts tournament and I'm up against a fellow ranked black belt, which they try to do as often as possible including the age but considering how few have mastered my style of martial arts to the level I have it's kind of hard to do"

"Yeah due to the fact that I have mastered all the styles of martial arts I can't really go all out against any opponent I go up against in a martial arts competition, which I have been to one a few times in the past, but not many and I have yet to do it this year because of certain situations"

They continue to just sit there when finally they were able to walk


	33. Chapter 33

"Well I think it's time I started gathering materials for a new weapon yet at the same time it's a very old weapon as well, it just hasn't really ever been used in ages"

"What weapon is that?"

"You'll have to wait and see I'm afraid because I am going to be working on it in secret"

Sara then leaves and goes back to her rooms and starts working on the weapon. Three days and two equipment cleanings later Sara came out with a very odd looking weapon

"What is that?"

"This is the bow and arrow, I am going to start using archery again, I enjoyed learning about it and it's very effective as a weapon as well"

Just then there were alarms sounded that told them someone was coming. Sara went to a perch and readied the arrow when suddenly she called out a command that everyone listened to because it made sense as the intruder got closer

"Wait hold your fire I think it's a friend!"

Sara went out to greet the person which they would find out was not a person at all. Sara in the meantime went out and ran towards the person and hugged them, and then started talking in it's language for the intruder was Rumble and he was injured fairly seriously too

*Rumble what happened to you?*

*We were ambushed on the way here, we came to tell you America has fallen again due to Quintessons, the President is missing and quite possibly dead his last orders which you did not receive because my group and I volunteered to tell you personally was to join the forces of the country if at all possible as a means to keep you safe, for Africa you are to either join the French Foreign Legion or find a base for Great Britain and join them as soon as possible but it's up to your base commander*

*I understand come on let's get you back to base and then I will take care of the repairs you need*

They finally make it back to base and Sara's look told everyone that she would explain the full situation only after the Cybertronian was taken care of. Once in the garage Sara did what she could but finally had to admit that there was nothing else she could do but leave it up to Rumble to decide if he would live or not, that's when the base commander went over to her

"How is he Lt.?"

"He's pretty bad and considering he wasn't alone when this happened I'm worried about the others, unless they were found by friendly forces who had mechanical skills I might lose some of my family as you well know sir"

"Why was he even here in the first place? I thought they wouldn't get involved in this war"

"Normally they wouldn't but he told me that we either have to join the French Foreign Legion or Great Britain due to the fact that America has fallen to Quintessons again, those were the President's last orders by the way"

"I understand and I think it might be best if we stuck with Britain due to how long we've been allies with them, but will the believe us?"

"Don't worry the President probably sent out a message to every country he could think of so that they would know to accept the American soldiers when we requested it"

"Very well then, we'll wait until your family member is either well enough to move or we have to bury him due to his demise"

"I understand sir, and by the way his name is Rumble"

"Then we will start preparing to move but won't make any final decisions until Rumble has made his decision on whether he will live or not considering how well I've seen you do his repairs"

"Well he's going to be offline for several hours after that we need oil if at all possible seeing as how they can convert the oil into energon through direct ingestion though that was only found out in recent years but it's a very handy ability, the Cybertronians who have transformation modes that need gasoline can also convert using that type of thing"

"And Rumble?"

"Well he was a cassette form but he might want to change forms after this I don't know yet"

"Well for now I think you need to eat and unless absolutely necessary you're no longer out on patrols your family member needs you right now"

"Thank you sir, and I am a bit hungry"

For the next three days Sara just sat and waited for Rumble to decide if he would live or succumb to his injuries when finally Sara got her answer. Sara had been sleeping when she felt someone brushing her hair with very large hands and she woke up to see Rumble awake

*Rumble you're awake, why did you wait so long to wake up?*

*How long have I been asleep?*

*Three days I have been waiting for three days to see if you would live or not*

*Well I was severely energy depleted and the injuries did not help any matters, got any oil I can drink?*

*No problem here you go*

Rumble drinks the oil and feels ready to go

"Wait Rumble we have something else to discuss are you keeping your original alternate form or are you changing it?"

"I'll change it to a vehicle that ways it will be much easier to transfer me to our new location"

"Okay I'll tell the base commander to finalize preparations for Britain"

"So that's who we're going to be under then?"

"Yep that's who we're going to be under?"

"Okay oh by the way the President sent out a world wide alert about the American forces having to integrate into foreign forces for survival"

"Figured as much but we don't know much more than that do we?"

"Nope it's up to the country we join who determines exactly how we're going to do this"

"Understood Rumble when would you like to scan a new transformation mode?"

"Once I get out of this garage"

"Got it"

Rumble decides on an armored vehicle that was quite common and they all boarded the plane that would take them to Britain and they're new countrymen until such a time that America could be freed

"So Lt. Kerenai why did you make a bow and arrows as part of your weapons?"

"Simple we might run out of ammo and you never know when these weapons will come in handy"

"Fine use antiquated things if you want but we're using modern weapons like the K-series and others"

"Look this is actually pretty modern it may seem antiquated but it's the best thing we have seeing as how we can't use the rifles after a certain distance or even really in the ships if something happens, look let me deal with the consequences of this weapon and you make sure we're not followed on the way out all right?"

"Fine we can do that"

Eventually they flew to Britain who had indeed received the President's request and it was decided that they would split up according to unit

"Excuse me commander but there is something I need to discuss with you in private if I may"

"Whatever for Lt. Kerenai?"

"There are some extenuating circumstances that you have no knowledge of in regards to my service in my country's military"

"Fine let's talk then"

With those words they went into a private room and Sara explained how she could serve with every branch in the armed forces and also the special ops groups of each branch of the service

"I see, well I have to talk with others in regards to such a thing with you but for now you and your unit will be with the group we have already discussed though am I to assume that your unit and only your unit is qualified to work with special forces if it comes to that?"

"Indeed we are, it's a very rare occasion but it does happen"

"I'll see what I can do but for now report to your post with your unit"

"No problem sir, um the unit will be informed of the situation correct?"

"They already have when we got the message from your President we informed every group about the possibility of American soldiers joining them"

"Okay then that's all I need to know"

They soon get to their new unit and are given new uniforms

"Look technically you're still part of the American military but seeing as how your country has fallen we need to give the impression that you guys are part of British forces so that no one's the wiser"

"That actually makes sense but tell us, how are we supposed to get orders from our  _American_  commanders when they might be dead or imprisoned?"

"Oh we have our ways, though according to the Prime Minister Lt. Kerenai has unique circumstances that require her to visit him as soon as she can for special orders"

(Groans) "Kerenai is it the same reason why you left without us and got yourself captured in Africa?"

"Most likely yeah, and you know full well why that happened due to your security clearances"

"Yeah we know already...alright then you head to the London to get all of that sorted out and we'll be waiting for you here unless we're on a training mission so that we can all get to know each other and what each person in this integrated unit does"

"No the exercise has been postponed until the Lt. gets everything settled on that end"

"OK then let's just get settled and the Lt. gets to head to London for a bit per her orders"

That's what Sara does and finds out that if her American commanders do indeed give orders her orders will be confirmed through the Prime Minister through a code word they agreed on together and if the American Commanders couldn't give orders the American Forces were to act under British rule and Sara was still going to have to confirm those orders as authentic through the special code word


	34. Chapter 34

"Then we're agreed Lt.?"

"Yes sir we are indeed agreed, hope to hear from you soon sir, maybe after the training exercise"

"Training exercise but your unit...ah of course the two groups need to start melding together and that's the best way to do so"

"Exactly sir so if you'll excuse me I have an exercise to attend"

The exercise started fine but when the two groups started to realize just how far Sara pushed herself they quickly formulated a plan that they hoped would work

"Are you sure she won't realize she's being drugged?"

"Positive this sedative is untraceable and most people don't even realize they've been drugged until it's too late if then"

So they spiked Sara's drink with a sedative that night expecting it to work instantly but that's not how things turned out. As soon as Sara finished drinking the tea she surprised them with a question

"Alright who spiked the tea with a sedative?"

"How did you know we've spiked you're drink?"

"Simple Kerenai's are resistant to drugs, and as the last Kerenai I'm the only person left with that kind of resistance and it's to all drugs though it seems sedatives are the least effective on us"

"So you're not going to sleep like you should on that sedative?"

"Not for a bit my resistance has saved my life several times and to be honest the only time a drug really works on me is if I allow it or the body truly recognizes it's need"

"Okay looks like we won't be doing that again"

"Well it might work if I've truly pushed myself too far but so far I haven't, you just  _think_  I have"

The next day they discovered something that they were not expecting and something that made Sara really angry, the likes the Marines hadn't seen since shortly after Rumble had come to them injured

"Looks like your Sergeant decided to take matters into his own hands and search for the group that's been after us since this all started"

"That stupid, pig headed, non conforming, order disobeying, non tracker, injury induced  _idiot_! I am going to flay him alive the next time I see him. I specifically told him not to do anything stupid and what does he do? Goes and does something stupid is what, I understand that he was just trying to save us some trouble but honestly does he really think he can do much with an injured shoulder?"

"What do you mean an injured shoulder?"

"Yeah when he took that fall he appears to have dislocated his right shoulder but never told anyone, the only reason I could tell was because I know everyone in my unit and noticed he was favoring his shoulder last night, right before I took watch I told him that he was to stay with the group no matter what and that his watch would be handled by someone else for the next few days until his shoulder starts to heal up more. Instead I find out he's up and decided to track our enemies when he knows that he isn't the best tracker on the team, oh he can find his way around well enough with a compass and map but other than that it's not happening"

"Looks like we have a Sergeant to save"

"Yes we do"

"First though all of us must eat"

"Agreed"

They start to eat when suddenly Sara's breathing became labored, due to the fact that this was a training exercise the training area was a small area that could be managed by about three to five different choppers depending on the scope of the exercise and the exercise could be stopped in an instant if need be, when Sara's breathing became labored she instantly went for her bag and brought out an epi-pen which one of the British soldiers was also used to seeing due to a sister who needed one as well. When he saw the pen he instantly got onto the radio and relayed the importance of sending a medevac chopper due to suddenly allergic attack, cause of allergy unknown

"One, and two, and three, and four, and five, and six, and seven, and eight, and nine, and ten, there someone send for a medevac the meal I just had has nuts in it and I need immediate medical attention"

"Already sent for, your Sergeant will be picked up as soon as he's spotted and the chopper is five minutes out, it appears we're near one of their stations in case something happened, now what is this about nuts being in your meal?"

"I'm allergic to nuts, anything that ends in cillin and Portuguese man-of-wars venom I carry the epi-pen on me at all times just in case"

"Good thing too, now then I'm going to do what I can as field medic but unfortunately it's not much because what you really need is oxygen and that's one thing I don't carry on me"

Fortunately the chopper did indeed arrive within the five minutes and they had all the supplies they needed for a severe allergic reaction. Several hours later there were several soldiers all looking pretty worried, the Sergeant having been "caught" only fifteen minutes after Sara was medevaced to the nearest location that could handle her emergency, finally though the doctor came out to see them

"Well, she's currently sleeping but she'll be fine it's a good thing she always carries that epi-pen on her because otherwise we might be telling you something different. Now then I understand she's a soldier but she's on restricted duty for the next three days and will be on a very bland diet for at least tomorrow, after that she'll be able to go back to a normal diet depending on what her body tells her"

"Doctor there's something you need to know and the British soldiers are sworn to secrecy about this, we know because we learned this on very early after we were made a team but Lt. Kerenai does not eat very much food on a  _normal_  day, this might push her stomach over the edge and force her to eat even less than normal"

"Why is she starving herself like that? I mean wouldn't that disqualify her from serving in you country's military?"

"Nope because this happened in the service of her country, you see before she joined our unit, and when I say before I mean  _decades_  before, she was taken prisoner and they poisoned her, that poison prevents her from eating normal amounts of food and unfortunately we have yet to find a cure"

"What do you mean by decades?"

"The Cybertronians put her in cryogenic suspension due to another poison which lasted for fifty years"

"Okay then I guess we'll have to be even more careful about what and how much we give her"

"Yes sir you will"

"Before I leave could you give me an example of her normal appetite just so that I know what to expect if she's with me longer than expected"

"Okay normally one can eat a bowl of soup, maybe two depending on how hungry they are and if they're eating it with anyone else, Sara can only eat half a bowl if that, and if she's in survival mode and hunts for food she might be able to eat maybe a quarter of her kill if it's a good sized rabbit, if she's hungry enough she might eat a third but that's a rare thing to see. Now when she's sick she'll eat even less, she might have maybe a cup of soup, and maybe a few crackers since that doesn't mess with her stomach too much when she's queasy, and even though we've never seen her have such a severe reaction to something she's eaten I think she might be unable to eat even that much. Oh and her body doesn't consider it starving due to her adaptive capabilities"

"Looks like she might be in here longer than first expected"

(Sighs) "I'll tell base commander that the training exercise is to be postponed until further notice again because we  _need_  to be able to work with each other, oh by the way Sergeant I think you're in for it once she recovers from this"

"What makes you say that?"

"Simple she called you and I quote, 'stupid, pig headed, non conforming, order disobeying, non tracker, injury induced  _idiot_!' end quote"

"Yeah I am in trouble once she's well enough, in fact I might possibly be dead meat, she never yells like that unless she's  _really_  ticked off"

"Been with her long enough?"

"That and right before we left Africa, she had willingly taken a break from a friend's side so that she could stretch and actually release some pent up emotions. She had given a younger soldier specific orders to get her if her friend's condition changed in any manner because she knew the friend best and was the only one capable of dealing with any issues that might arise, and all of us knew it. When she got back to her friend's side he was having a seizure like episode that had been going on for the past fifteen minutes, she quickly realized what was causing the episode and took care of the problem. Once that was done she yelled at the rookie about not doing as instructed because she had feared that exact thing since it was still the first day of healing for her friend and considering how badly injured he was she knew that those episodes were a risk. No one has ever heard her yell like that except in the midst of battle and that's when she's either giving the unit directions or asking for more ammo. After that she didn't leave her friend's side until after he woke up a full three days after he had first arrived. And that time the yelling was a combination of fear and anger, we've never seen her truly ticked off except at the enemy and since we're all fighting the enemy as well it's barely noticeable because we're concentrating on not getting killed"

"That is quite an interesting story you guys have, well all of you should report back to base because she's not going to be getting any visitor's at least for today, and you guys need to look out for yourselves if you're going to help the Lt. recover from this accidental allergy attack"

"We will doctor, just make sure you make note of the nut allergy and anything that ends in cillin, that's also very important because that could kill her as well"

"Don't worry I'll make sure that's clearly marked on her chart so that everyone knows  _not_  to give her that, even though she shouldn't need antibiotics for just a food allergy attack better safe than sorry"

The Sergeant in the meantime had crossed his arms in what the US Marines recognized as his common thinking pose, though it looked otherwise to those unused to it


	35. Chapter 35

"We'll also have to tell the cooks at base, we left for training so fast after having just entered the country I don't think Sara had the time to inform them of her food allergy, and we'll also have to inform the medics as well just in case. Thankfully no one else in the unit has such allergies but still I think all of us should be extra vigil just in case"

"Don't worry Sergeant, us Brits have a way of understanding things like this and we'll also be on the alert for possible things that could kill her, as the team medic I'll make sure to stock up on epinephrine just in case of trouble because you never know if she'll develop new allergies or be accidentally exposed to preexisting ones"

"Okay well like I already stated you guys need to take care of yourselves as well so get back to base and get food and rest, today's been pretty stressful for you guys"

Two days later Sara was released from the hospital and warned that her stomach would still be sensitive for the next few days but she could start going back to a normal diet starting the next day

"Don't worry doctor I know better than to push my body beyond it's limits, I've been dealing with such things for many many years"

"Oh really a US soldier gave me some medical files son after you were admitted for anaphylactic shock and I must say some of what I've read is surprising to say the least"

"Hey some of those injuries were caused due to being a POW, the rest were due to training accidents that were unavoidable due to either terrain or weather or a combination of both, okay so yeah normally I can go three days without sleep, but I still know my limits and obey them, though I do have a request if at all possible"

"What on earth could you want from us?"

"The United States has been working on my little feeding problem but has yet to find a solution, maybe through studying my blood and the poison that I know has been used you might find the solution that has been so elusive for American doctors"

"I'll give it a shot but don't expect fast results, and seeing as how long your body has gone without a whole lot of food I wonder if it will ever regain it's ability to eat a normal amount"

"Don't worry it should, because there's something I have never told anyone but another doctor who can't tell anyone due to doctor patient confidentiality, I may eat very little but my stomach tells me that I'm still hungry and I know it, I just get ill if I eat more than the limits the poison has forced upon me"

"And yet the doctor's haven't found the cure?"

"Nope, and they've tried a  _lot_  of different combinations just to get results"

"Okay I'll see what I can do on my end, maybe some sort of plant found only in England will have the answer you need"

"Wales and Scotland also need to be thought of if England doesn't provide the answer"

"Don't worry I'll manage"

Sara then gets a ride back to the base and over the next few days they allowed Sara to recuperate from the severe allergic reaction and also alerted the kitchen about her food allergy so that they understood what she could and couldn't eat. While she was in the medical office to discuss what training she did and didn't have they discussed a case that had happened while she was in cryogenic suspension

"Well the doctor's can actually give them anti venom unless allergic and it should have worked unless...no, oh no, no, no, no, no, no, not that"

"Not what Lt.?"

Sara doesn't answer immediately but instead goes through a medical book that was rarely used until she stopped at a certain page and read something real quick

"Antibody shock, it's a very rare and very uncommon condition, when the antibodies suddenly react to anything and everything in the body and it causes the body to go into shock because of how stressed out the body is, if that happens there's not much one person can do except normal saline and then simply treat the symptoms of shock as best as possible while not aggravating the condition any further than it already has been"

"So there wasn't much that could have been done unless one recognized the symptoms for what they were?"

"Exactly, it wasn't the doctor's fault even though he probably was suspended for a few weeks while an investigation took place"

"Yes, a medical examiner told the board that he wasn't at fault for what had happened but didn't explain any further, and the reason why I know this is because  _I'm_  the doctor who had to deal with that case, it was my last year as a resident and I was doing well when it happened, only after I did some research did I find out what had killed my patient"

"I see, looks like you found where you belonged in the military once you finished medical school"

"Indeed I did, and I have learned so much more about antibody shock and other conditions since I have joined the armed forces"

"I'm sure you have"

"Since I have fully established that you have remembered all of your medical training you pass muster to become a combat field medic should your normal team medic be unavailable which means you now have access to the same drugs he does"

"Not a problem I can carry everything I possibly need with my everything bag"

"Speaking of that bag of yours, just how  _does_  it carry everything you could possibly need for the mission on hand?"

"Well it's simple, for one I pack as tightly as possible and for another I pack according to mission statement plus a little extra in case of an emergency"

"Oh that's how it works"

"That and it's a slightly bigger bag than standard military packs"

"By how much?"

"Three medium sized items and six small ones, none for large"

"Understood and don't worry if they don't need to know I don't think I should spill the secret of the everything bag, it's too mysterious to do otherwise"

"I know, oh by the way am I cleared for training?"

"Yes I have cleared you for training and your unit should be sent on a training exercise within twenty-four hours if not sooner"

"Okay best get back to my unit and hopefully we'll learn how to work together as a cohesive unit seeing as how we have yet to hear anything in regards to freeing America"

"Don't worry America will be freed soon, I know it"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence"

The aborted training exercise was restarted and they did pretty good, unfortunately when they reached their goal to rescue a POW they were captured as was supposed to happen in this exercise. They were taken to another area of the village and they were interrogated when suddenly something changed, Sara who's arms were forced behind her suddenly winked and she made her escape attempt with hand to hand combat that no one had ever seen before, unfortunately they failed at escaping but it was definitely a good attempt

"Well you almost managed to escape their grasp"

"Yeah, got close too, unfortunately for me they were just a little bit better than me"

"What kind of fighting style did you use to escape...or well try to escape anyways"

"A unique style known only to me, however if I ever choose I might pass it on to others, but I have yet to decide if I will or not"

"In the meantime what now?"

"Not entirely sure actually but we'll think of something, we have to"

They continue to think about escape plans and also do what they were allowed considering they were POW's but other than that they didn't do much when suddenly Sara got an idea that was so crazy even she initially doubted it would work. When she finally told the rest of the group they looked at her like she was crazy

"Look I know it's crazy and it shouldn't work but if you fully listen to my plan it will work, oh and I have a valid question, does anyone know where a staff or bow and arrow set are? I need them for the whole plan to work"

"Well I was led by the armory once without a blindfold and it looks like all of our weapons are there which means your bow and arrows are also there Lt."

"Excellent that will be a big help, but only depending on our timing"

"What I want to know is what's so special about a regular looking bow and arrow, or even a staff?"

"Well in most people's hands they are pretty ordinary, but in mine, now then this is classified and I don't know if the enemy knows sign language so I am going to use that, but in mine they're special because of this one reason" (switches to sign language) *I was born with special powers and can use them to enhance any weapon I touch, though with the guns we use I don't because that is actually too dangerous, trust me when I was woken up, and yes I know my unit told you about my cryogenic suspension, the EDC and I agreed to do some tests to see how my powers reacted after being asleep for so long and we even used unconventional weapons. It turns out that except for guns my powers can enhance the use of other weapons, but only if I so choose. That goes for the bow and arrow as well, when we formed a resistance the resistance saw the power that a bow staff could have in my hands, trust me when I initially did it everyone was pretty surprised at the results* (speaks out loud again) "and that's basically the whole story"

"Okay we trust you"

Soon after they made those plans they finally managed to escape and on the way out Sara actually used the bow and arrow and they found out just what could happen when Sara combined her powers with any weapon she chose to do so

"Arranyan fireworks!"

She shoots the arrow into the sky and there were basically fireworks raining down on the enemy causing light damage if any. She then shot another arrow and called out another ability

"Arranyan reverse shields!"

The arrow that landed in the ground prevented the enemy from moving any further, but because of how she augmented her powers the shield would only last about fifteen minutes

"Come on we only have about fifteen minutes to get a good distance away from this place"

"Fifteen minutes only?"

"Yep, didn't want to hold them back for too long because not only does distance affect me but they will eventually crack the shield if it was at full strength...eventually meaning who knows when"

"Understood Kerenai, come on guys let's get out of here"

They make it to an abandoned farm and found horses

"I have another idea that you guys may or may not like"

"What is it?"

"Well as far as I know I am the only known equine rider and there's a horse right there, the farmers have been evacuated per government orders I just saw on the door. I can take the horse to the nearest base I can find, or even a camp and get help for us escaped POW's much sooner than if we just continue on like we are"

"That does make sense in a way but what about the rest of us? I don't think we'll be able to do much against the enemy including hiding"

"That's something I don't know either, but by now the shield will have failed and they will be after us soon enough"

A British Lt. was the one who thought up the solution

"The woods, we can use the woods to our advantage, we know the woods better than the enemy in this area due to a recent patrol, if we're smart enough we should be able to manage it"

"Okay then I guess we have a plan, but I  _am_  going to leave a note for the horse owners so that they know what has happened and why"

The group separates soon after, Sara heading in one direction and the rest of the unit heading in the opposite direction so that they could hide in the woods. Two days later Sara finally made it to a small encampment with British soldiers and then also saw her unit with them


	36. Chapter 36

"The exercise ended yesterday Kerenai when your unit was found by another patrol and 'rescued', they told their rescuers the plan and thus we stayed here waiting for you to arrive"

"I see and how exactly did we do sir?"

"You guys pass muster and are considered an integrated group now"

"Good, now for us to get supplies and new orders for us"

"Yeah and until we get those orders we will have no idea what said orders are considering we're still a new unit due to the whole allergy session"

"That wasn't your fault Kerenai none of us knew that the meal you had had nuts in it"

"We still should have told someone before I went out, that was negligence on my part"

The camp commander who had heard of the incident made a valid point that would put a new perspective on the whole situation

"When did you guys have a chance to do so? I know that Kerenai had to meet with the Prime Minister for whatever reason and for the rest of the unit they were a bit busy debriefing their superiors on what had happened in Africa before they were forced to come here, so would someone like to tell me when you guys had time to inform us of the allergy? I think if it's anyone's fault it's your superiors because they were the ones who should have informed us of any medical conditions you guys might have had that could affect your service to the country before you guys even arrived"

That gives the American Marines some thought and they eventually realize that what had just been said was the truth, Sara  _had_  been busy getting things straightened out with the Prime Minister while the rest of the unit did have to do some major debriefing to their superiors when they arrived, and considering they informed their superiors hours before they had arrived their superiors had time to inform the British government about any and all of their medical conditions so that things like the allergy incident didn't happen because all that information was already known

"OK you win sir, we aren't at fault but except for me we can't chew out our superiors and right now I have bigger things to worry about then why I was almost killed by eating something"

"Like what?"

"Intel reports that I just got through my family in regards to the situation in America, I'm going to have to most likely fight for what I want to do, but for now let's see what our mission is"

As it turned out their first mission was actually in regards to America and the unknown Intel reports

"Wait our mission is to take care of a Quintesson base just off of the Hawaiian shore?"

"Exactly Gunny that's our mission"

Sara just sighs at hearing that and when she sees people looking at her expectantly she speaks up

"I'm afraid that what's off the coast of Hawaii isn't a base, I have received recent Intel reports from an active Hawaii resistance cell that the Quintessons recently made a new concentration camp off shore so that it's not as easy to attack as others have been"

"So I have to ask, who has the skills to do this then?"

"In America it would be the Navy SEAL's but in Britain, I'm going to have to defer to the SAS for this one seeing as how we're technically under British rule until we free America"

"Kerenai I have a mission for you and you alone I'm afraid"

"I think I can guess what it is, it could only be one of two things you either want me to join the SAS on the mission or you want me to use my special skills and do a solo scout mission off the coast of Hawaii so that we know  _exactly_  how to handle the concentration camp"

"Exactly, but I don't think you should have said that around your unit"

"Considering they have almost as high a clearance as I do I think I can"

"How much higher are you?"

"One level only in all reality, and they understand that if I say I can't tell them I can't tell them"

"Okay well whichever you think it's best is what we'll do"

"Give me a minute and I think I'll have a good plan because I'm wondering why it took so long to find out about this camp, and I also need to remember what the weather is typically like in Hawaii right now because weather affects lots of plans"

"Well there's actually a valid reason why it took you this long to find out about the camp Lt. we...we denied the group entrance at first when they mentioned who they were because we didn't trust they were telling the truth six weeks ago"

(Sighs) "I suppose that the President didn't explain about the resistance when he gave out the world wide alert about America being taken over by Quintessons?"

"Nope never heard of them, it took a commander in Japan to confirm they were telling the truth and we didn't think to ask until we noticed they were really persistent about what they were saying"

"Okay well I still need to do some checking up on the weather because that will affect the ocean and that in turn will affect my planning"

Sara looked and quickly thought up a plan that she knew would take a few days to get together

"Well, seeing as how a Hurricane is in the area and will take a few days to settle we can't do anything now, however I have decided that both the SAS and the Naval services will be used, the SAS because they are special forces and have the training we need, but we will need the support of the Naval services because it is the ocean and the ocean is unpredictable, they will be our safety net in case something goes wrong"

"But what about the secrecy factor?"

"That's why they will be at least fifty miles off the location of the camp at all times"

"But the need for underwater diving..."

"Easy, we will stay on surface for as long as possible by using zodiacs up to a certain distance away from the camp, zodiacs are not as noticeable as large vessels and they will have the gas needed to go back and forth"

"I just need one piece of confirmation do you just need the Royal Navy or the Royal Marines?"

"Both branches of the Naval services, you never know what can happen against Quintessons"

"Understood, well since it will be a few days before we can actually go through with the plan everyone needs to rest until further notice"

"No problem sir, and guys I know you're US Marines and technically be with the Royal Navy Marines but for some reason I get the feeling you would be better served staying in Britain, more specifically England then going with me"

"But Lt. what if..."

"No Gunny I can't have you come with me, listen to me and listen to me well, you guys are the only ones who have the right security clearance to deal with anything that comes up while I'm away. In all my life I have never seen Quintessons make an offshore concentration camp no matter how many of their camps are attacked on land, I suspect this is a trap to get displaced American soldiers. If that's the truth it's too dangerous for you guys because we're still allowed to wear our American uniforms, but I will be safe"

"How so?"

"I'm activating my full refugee status, as the only human raised child of the Cybertronians I am allowed to join the military of the country I seek refuge until I can rejoin the military of America, and in this situation I can either choose to be part of that country's military temporarily, like a sensitive mission like this one, or until America is freed which is more permanently"

"Then we will stay here as you request but you'd better do your best to come back safely"

"Well no one is going any wheres until the weather settles and that's final"

"Yes sir"

That night Sara was sleeping, but it wasn't a good sleep, when she woke up for the fifth time in three hours she realized what was going on and knew what she now had to do. She went over to her bag and brought out a small bottle that not many were aware of, it was a bottle of sedatives given to her soon after she had come out of cryogenic suspension. While she was recovering in the EDC base it was discovered that Sara occasionally needed help sleeping and the EDC sedatives worked so that if you were suddenly needing to be awake you could wake up as bright and alert as possible when you normally wake up, which had saved her life more than once during the second war for earth's freedom. Of course no one understood  _how_  the sedatives were able to work so effectively due to her resistance to drugs through her Kerenai blood

"The question is now before me once again, normally I would take the blasted pill so that I can sleep yet I hesitate now, my restlessness is not natural that I already know but I have no idea why I can't get any sleep tonight" (sighs) "I think that my powers are reacting to something like that one time in my past when I was in Britain for a vacation and an archery competition and the day of the competition there was a terrorist bombing incident"

Another soldier passed by where Sara was sleeping that night and saw the bottle she held, and the soldier a female Marine informed her superior about it who then had to go to Kerenai and confront her about the bottle

"Okay Lt. what on earth are you doing with pills on you?"

"These are EDC sedatives, I was given them soon after I awoke from cryogenic suspension due to nightmares I occasionally have, unfortunately this time the reason I can't get any sleep is because of an uneasiness I have been feeling lately"

"Will the pills not work then?"

"I have no idea, but I also know I need sleep for what is to come, and sir no one except the highest form of government is supposed to know about the sedatives unless I need them on a mission so don't go spreading it about if at all possible"

"But the possible interaction of drugs..."

"Don't worry these pills are designed not to cause adverse reaction unless found allergic"

"So why do you hesitate to take something that will help you sleep?"

"Because my being unable to sleep is unnatural, normally I wouldn't hesitate if I woke up five times in three hours but this time I'm afraid I must hesitate because I'm not sure if these will help me get sleep and yet..."

"And yet you need sleep so that you are capable of doing your mission"

"Exactly"

"How about this, you come to my tent and I will keep watch over you for two hours after you take the pills to see how they affect you and if nothing too severe happens you can stay in my tent while I take a night patrol for the first time in a while"

"Okay I can agree to that and it makes sense"

Fortunately for Sara the sedatives worked as intended and she got a full nights sleep after taking them. The next day she and the others continued making a few contingency plans just in case when a sudden call to arms was heard, when she went outside and used her special contacts she quickly saw what the problem was and simply went inside her tent and came out with her bow and arrows and also her guns.


	37. Chapter 37

_A few minutes earlier_

"Never did I think I would fight these creatures again, and in the same country as they invaded the last time, when I was simply visiting and playing soccer for fun. I will not let them do the same amount of damage to the country they did last time even if I have to sacrifice myself to make that possible, heh good thing I made sure to design my weapons with superior range in case something like this ever happened because some of the enemies can be downright devious if it comes to that"

_Present_

A British soldier just transferred to the base confronted Sara about her choice of weaponry

"And just what do you expect a bow and arrow to do against our foes?"

"You'll see, in the meantime I would suggest you get to your post"

Sara got to hers and then to the shock of all she raised her rifle to her shoulder and took aim at the enemy even though they were a good distance away, then they heard her talking to herself

"Come on, just a little closer...little closer...a...nd...now!"

Suddenly she fired a shot and one of the enemy went down and then just as quickly more of the enemy went down as Sara kept firing at the enemy, she then started talking which brought everyone out of their stupor

"Well don't just stand their shoot the darn things, if you have K-series weapons they have superior range for this exact reason, though don't ask me how I know this, oh and some of you might want to start looking at the ground in case they have ground forces"

They quickly do exactly as they are told and quickly realize that Sara was telling the truth and the weapons were actually helping due to the fact that during Sara's fifty years of cold sleep the government's of the world decided that the weapons were to have an automatic range finder built in them in case civilians ever needed to get their hands on the weapons and didn't usually use them so whenever the target was in range a light in their sight would turn green and that let them know the target was in range of the shot. They then noticed Sara taking out her bow and arrows and doing damage to the ground forces, though they didn't understand how they realized that there was something special about Sara's weapon that was unique only to her though one soldier her a US Marine mutter under his breath about her being a show off

"You know better than that Gunny, say does anyone have any more magazines available because I'm out, and I carried fifteen extras just in case, but seeing as how all of us have needed them I've lost the reserves I had"

"Sorry, but none of us can retrieve any either, they're coming way too fast"

"In that case I have no other choice Arranyan winds!"

The enemy in the sky suddenly up and fell down in pieces then Sara was on the ground with her hands also on the ground and there was a sudden shaking and then a very huge mountain showed up

"That should take care of that" (sighs) "I have some reports to read I think because if my suspicions are correct we're in deep trouble"

A few hours after the battle Sara was confronted by a few soldiers who had no understanding of what was going on with Sara at the moment

"What was with the battle earlier today? I thought you cared about us and yet you keep things from those who you would temporarily work with"

"There's such a thing as security clearance codes to deal with, new recruits don't have the necessary clearance to really know about me except in dire emergencies and those that do have the security rarely have the need to activate such clearances because they are either part of my unit whom I trust explicitly or they have already heard so much about me they learn to glean things from what they hear"

"She speaks the truth guys, you're just going to have to trust her on this one I'm afraid, either that or ignore her because she's going on the mission period the end of it per everyone's orders"

They all turn around to see the base commander walking over to them, he had noticed that some of the newer soldiers who had yet to learn just who to bother and who not to bother and about what, had followed Sara and knew they would most likely ask questions she couldn't actually answer. He also had gotten a report meant for Kerenai right before the battle so he felt he needed to tell her now rather than let it wait lest it be important

"Sir, is there something you need?"

"Actually yes Lt. there's a report for you that I need to give you just in case it spells trouble for the upcoming mission"

"Understood sir, I assume you got it right before the battle and thus put it on your desk where anyone can read it?"

"Not quite, I put it in the American reports drawer that I showed you while you were recovering from that one incident"

"Ah, okay I have the key to that drawer thanks for telling me"

"No problem"

Sara leaves but the younger soldiers didn't knowing they were not yet dismissed

"Listen to me and listen to me very carefully, due to the fact that you are new soldiers there are going to be things that other people know that you will not find out and vice versa, from now on I think it's best if you leave things you don't understand alone unless it's important for you to learn so that later on in either life or your career you can help others understand. Lt. Kerenai's abilities is one such thing that is to be left alone unless absolutely necessary because of the nature of her abilities, any nightmares she has that you hear is also off limits unless she willingly tells you or anyone else is that understood?"

"Yes sir"

"Good you're dismissed to either your other duties or if you're off duty you have the rest of the day free until you're back on duty"

While the base commander dealt with reprimanding youngsters Sara looked at the report that had arrived that day and quickly realized it's significance and knew that the people she needed would only be able to get to her through yelling so once she was outside everyone on base heard her

"US MARINES GET YOUR SORRY REAR ENDS HERE RIGHT NOW!"

The unit was quickly at the commanders office and they could tell that something serious was up

"Guys we've got problems, I need to deal with the camp off the coast of Hawaii, remember what I told you guys when we first discussed the mission?"

"Yes you said it would be too dangerous for us and that if something happened it would be best for us to stay put just in case"

"Well it looks like you guys have your own mission while I deal with mine, there's been an attack at another base here in Britain and all of their American soldiers are either dead or too badly injured to help keep the base safe any longer so you are being temporarily transferred to the base while everyone recovers and rebuilds"

"Yes sir"

"Wait is it because we're the closest or because of our security clearance?"

"Both actually, you see the base is only ten miles from here but there are occasions where it deals with some seriously classified things"

"Okay then let's do it, hope to see you in a few weeks"

"Yeah we are moving up the time line a bit because of the recent attack, the hurricane should be over with by now anyways so we're heading out by tonight"

"How are you getting to the ship?"

"Chopper, it's the only thing fast enough to get me to where it's docked right now"

Suddenly though all conversation stopped as Sara suddenly brought out her knife, flipped it so that she was holding the blade and then turned and threw the blade all within the span of a minute. When they saw what was hit the British soldiers were in awe that she had detected the venomous snake before anyone else

"I wouldn't move that blade yet if I were you that snake is pretty venomous and if you remove the blade now without taking off the head first you are at high risk of being invenomated with the head"

"What will you do with the snake?"

"Well I don't know about the rest of you but I for one am willing to make sure that snake is properly prepped and cooked, that will be a meal for me for a few days if proper care is taken care of"

"Wait you would eat a snake?"

"Considering that it was sometimes the only thing available in the war to free America? Yeah I would eat snake if it kept me alive"

"Lt. has the doctor taken care of that um...little problem you've been having lately?"

"Not yet, though he's recently found something that he hopes will work, but it will take a few weeks for him to be sure"

"Understood, well seeing as how you need to leave we'll prep the snake and eat it, I remember you making us eat all kinds of things when we first became a team so that we understood that if you don't do this you might die, though SERE training also emphasizes this it's not to the extent you do"

"Well considering how often the ability to hunt saved my life I would hope I emphasize the importance of such skill as much as possible. But you guys are correct in the fact that quite frankly I need to leave for my mission, see to it that the snake is  _properly_  prepared for consumption I don't think you guys want a repeat of the last time I wasn't there due to government paperwork and you guys did some hunting for food. Oh and don't forget about going to the base per your orders"

The group winced in remembrance due to how sick they had been the last time they had done that. With those parting words Sara left the group to the snake while she went on an important mission. Several hours later Sara was on board the ship that would take her and the others to Hawaii

"Are you certain of this Lt.?"

"Yes I am"

"But if people see you in the uniform of Britain, if they're American soldiers they might..."

"Don't worry if they are of a certain rank they already know why I wear the uniform of a British soldier I know you don't like the situation but if you want to come out of this alive you would do well to let me do my job"

"Fine but if we're discovered that falls to you"

"Fine by me I always knew I would take full responsibility for whatever happens on this mission"

"We'll be off the coast of Hawaii in a few weeks"

"Good, well I'm going to get some rack time, I had a few rough days recently"

"So we've heard, get some sleep once that's done I'll see what I can do for you to have something to do while on the ship"

(Sighs) "I know that but I must warn you now due to my powers I have a kind of sixth sense that proves right more often then not and I'm getting a bad feeling. I am not giving you any orders captain but I would advise you double your guard if at all possible and...I would have you request extra supplies for the corpsman I fear he will have need of them and soon"

"I will see what I can do but considering I've seen your battle prowess I trust you"

"Since when have you seen my battle prowess?"

"Easy I became a captain soon after you were captured in Africa for those few weeks"

"Ah now I remember you, you've changed since that day"

"Yes being caught in a ship fire would do that, fortunately I recovered enough to rejoin the military but I am now permanently scarred"

(Yawns) "I think it best that you take me to where I am sleeping while on the ship because I am dead on my feet and talking is not helping"

Over the next few days Sara took over some extra patrols and even a few stints at radar due to illness, which turned out to be an allergic reaction to a food that the soldier had never been exposed to before and thus didn't know he was allergic. Suddenly though Sara sensed trouble and even confirmed it with the radar, the battle that happened was intense and forced Sara overboard due to an enemy forcing her to back up against the railing and then into the water where they then stopped paying attention to her. She resurfaced in time to see the entire ship blown up making her the only survivor thus activating a plan that had been put into place since they had entered British military service all those months ago


	38. Chapter 38

_Several months earlier_

"So there's something else we need to discuss"

"If something happens to me while in the service of the country, I already have the solution"

"Oh what's that?"

"Simple, I have several safe houses all over the world, if something happens that causes me to go under the radar I can use those safe houses to alert the country I serve at the time that I am alive, however I also request the ability to alert agents to the fact that they've been busted and get them to safety using a special code so that they know I'm an ally and they can trust me"

"Very well let's get everything situated and I think I can understand why you are doing this"

They do exactly that and alert MI6 agents to the whole situation which they agreed to and were actually glad that there was a safety net

_Present_

"Okay sit rep time, I am alone due to my ship being destroyed and am currently off the coast of Namibia, okay so I get to Namibia, head to my safe house and get what I need to head to Britain the long route, oh and also alert Britain to the fact that I am alive but the crew is not" (sighs) "I also have to tell them we need a new plan for getting a look at the concentration camp, arg this is so frustrating"

She starts swimming and quickly comes up to the coast and continues to the land. Once there she simply rests for a few hours seeing as how it was already evening when she made landfall, but she only rested for about five hours before she headed to the safe house and sent a very brief signal to let Britain know that she was still alive and the crew was not and she knew she had to do so soon. Once at the safe house she got onto the secure computer and indeed sent that signal. The signal was brief with very basic details and would also be bounced off of several different satellites as a secondary security measure, after that she grabbed some supplies that she would need for the journey including a map so that she could know her approximate location

"Well time to move out now, I just wish that the crew wasn't lost and that I could have completed my mission that is desperately needed"

She heads out and mainly sticks to land so that every so often she could report in to Britain but she occasionally used boats so that she wasn't predictable. Almost six months later she was in Czech Republic when she overheard some people oust an agent so she deliberately bumped into the agent

"I'm  _so_  sorry here let me help you get this stuff" (once on the ground in a low voice) "Code delta six, get to safe house 12 by nightfall or I'm leaving you behind"

"Understood"

Fortunately the agent makes it to the safe house

"So now what?"

"Now we head to another location, I don't have what I need here"

They head to another area in the city that wouldn't be very noticeable at night time

"Where are we?"

"This is my safe house, I have to send a message to Britain that I have a burned agent with me, I have food and some false ID's in here, one of which you can use due to the fact that I keep both male and female ID's just in case I run into people like you who need a way to get back to safety, I myself need to change ID just in case someone found me out with this ID. Oh and just so you know any and all ID's made for my use female or otherwise are recognized all over the world which means we can safely get back into the country under an assumed name"

"So airport after this?"

"Nope Germany, we'll get back to England through Cuxhaven"

"Cuxhaven doesn't have an airport as far as I know"

"I know that which is why we enter England through Lowestoft"

"That's going to take a while"

"I know that, and I know I technically can't give you any orders after we reach England I want you to stay with me just a little longer due to some things I want to give you once back on English soil"

"Understood"

They double checked their bags and then headed to Cuxhaven by road and the agent quickly discovered that Sara was a linguist and thus was the best person to be the spokesperson so that they could actually get around without any misunderstandings, once in Germany they finally managed to find a train headed to Cuxhaven though the British agent didn't know that at first

"Hey got us a train ticket to Cuxhaven and from there we can get a boat ticket for Lowestoft"

"Excellent I was getting a little tired of hitchhiking to be honest"

"Same here, now come on we'd best get going or we're going to miss the train"

They eventually get to Cuxhaven and went to a port so that they could get passage to Lowestoft, only this time the agent could tell that it wasn't going so well

*Look, when will the next ship be available? *

*Not for three days *

*Is there anything I could get that could get me close faster than three days? *

*The only thing I can think of is going to Hamburg, so that you can catch a plane to London *

*Fine we'll wait, but please try and let me know as soon as there's a ship available *

*Will do *

She goes back over to her companion who was waiting for her on the bench

"So when do we leave?"

"Not for three days yet it appears that there aren't any boats going to Lowestoft until then"

"When was the last time you sent a message out?"

"Day before we boarded the train, don't worry I don't have to report in for at least another six days and we'll be on a boat by then...so guess I'd better make the report now, though Britain does know that I can't report on a regular basis so if I report in as soon as we land in Britain we should be okay"

"Fine then, let's find a hotel to stay in until we can get home"

"Okay let's go, oh and remember let me do the talking because you only know enough German to actually order something if only because you wanted to know what you were ordering"

"I already know that I learned my lesson from last time"

"And you were lucky I was there otherwise you might have wound up in jail, turned out you were talking to a plainclothes officer and you didn't even know it"

"Oh yeah didn't know that"

They eventually find a hotel and enter, fortunately due to this being a tourist town the receptionist was able to speak English, if heavily accented

"What can I do for you today?"

"We need a room for two please?"

"Of course he is just a friend then?"

"Yes"

"How long will you be staying?"

"About three days, not quite sure yet"

Once they were in the room Sara promptly fell asleep having been up the past two days due to being on guard after a close call shortly before they boarded the plane, but not before she gave a very specific instruction she knew the agent would understand

"Agent Handard, you have watch"

"Copy that I have watch, get sleep"

He watches Sara go to sleep and then simply decides to stay up because even though he could technically get sleep as well he realized that Sara hadn't had any sleep for a while if she was declaring someone else having watch so he felt it prudent that he stay awake. He quickly noticed that she was in the midst of a nightmare but he also knew better than to do anything because of her military background, he knew that if he touched her while she was asleep could cause her reflexes to believe her an enemy and inadvertently attack and hurt him as she currently had no means of recognizing friend or foe in her current state of mind. About five minutes after she started having the nightmare Sara was suddenly up and breathing pretty harshly


	39. Chapter 39

"I'm awake, I'm safe, and I'm not  _there_  no matter how often my mind takes me there"

"Are you okay Sharon?"

"Yeah I'm fine Mark, just remembering something I had long thought I was over with"

"Care to talk about it?"

"No it's not something to be discussed without thought, if this keeps up on the way home I'll be talking to some councilors who have the proper security clearance"

"Why were you holding out your hand like you were holding a gun?"

"That happens often I'm afraid, be glad I didn't have one because even though I make sure the gun is on safety whenever I sleep near one it still unnerves people that I even have a gun in my hand and until I come out of it on my own any wrong reaction could make me very, very dangerous"

"Instinct coming out"

"Exactly, well I still need some sleep so I'm going to try and do that now"

She goes back to sleep and Mark keeps watch until the morning when she woke up. Two days later they finally received word that a ship was going to Lowestoft and that if they wanted to get to England they had to make the boat or be left behind for another three weeks. They did indeed make the boat and quickly settled into the routine of ship life because since the ship wasn't a cruise ship and was a working ship the two had to earn their ride through doing a few things on the ship. Though the crew did accept the money they paid it was understood that they still had to do some work for their keep. It took almost a month to get back to England but get back they did

"Come on, I have what I need to give to you over here"

They head to a little used security room where Sara brings out two cases which held handguns which they didn't have with them until now. Sara checks each magazine for ammo and then pulls the slide back so that she could prep the gun, and she does that with both guns

"Twenty rounds for each magazine standard nine millimeter rounds, after you run out of this magazine you're on your own for munition though I have a feeling that you won't need it, you need to report to MI6 and I need to report to the military"

"Let's do it then"

Fortunately both would wind up getting to their locations safely and were allowed in with the false ID's when the base commander heard Sara's false name he was a bit confused until he saw Sara face to face

"Kerenai, you're late in reporting in"

"Sorry, we missed the original boat and had to wait three days, I figured that since we would be back by the time I absolutely had to report in before being deemed MIA I could wait until we got back to Britain to report in, the agent is reporting in to his bosses by now as well"

"Good, well your American unit is back at the old base so I think you should change and get back to your unit, what are you going to do about Hawaii though?"

(Sighs) "I can't risk British soldiers again too soon, even though it's been months since I've been here, try and get in contact with another country that has American soldiers, they might be able to think up another plan that will work"

"Fine, but you need to be kept apprised of the situation as far as I know so I will make sure that happens"

"Yeah, well your unit was moved to another base after they helped the one base so I'm handing you your transfer orders personally and then we'll make sure that the proper people know you're alive and back on British soil, until America is free at least"

"Say do you have a horse I could borrow? I know how to drive but for some reason I get the feeling that it's best I ride a horse and take roads not commonly used by cars"

"That's actually a good idea, lately government cars have been attacked in a random pattern including tanks on training exercises. I have some horses ready to leave at a moments notice, take the one you feel most comfortable with and head to the base on horse, I will let you know the base as soon as the horse and you are ready. I am  _not_  letting you go without supplies to last several days and you know why I can't do that"

"I know, where's the stable? I need to get ready to leave as soon as possible"

She's taken to the stable and she quickly finds a horse she likes and then just as quickly makes sure the horse is tacked up and ready for a ride. The base commander goes over and shows her on a map where her base is

"It's about three weeks by horse to get to the base and that's  _if_  you don't run into any problems on the way there"

"Then it will take longer because I will be moving by night as much as possible and hiding during the day, I will use night vision goggles to move so that I can do so"

"That's too dangerous a choice the enemy might figure it out and then what will you do?"

She mounts the horse once she was sure the supplies are properly loaded

"That's the second reason why it will take me longer than three weeks, I plan on using a less direct route than what you are probably thinking, don't worry I know what I am doing"

"Then here are your orders, if you get stopped on the way just show this to any soldier you encounter and they'll give you safe passage through their section"

He hands her the orders which she accepts

"Kerenai, it's been several months since you've been here and things have changed drastically I don't know exactly what to make of all of this but I know that the enemy is stepping up their plans to take over the world most likely so be safe"

"Don't worry I'll do my best, I'll make sure the base commander gives you a call once I arrive safely"

With those parting words Sara leaves the base full tilt knowing that it was best that she leave as quick as possible so that any enemies or spies didn't figure out where she was headed. No one knew that she had activated her Arranyan shields as soon as she had entered England because she had enough practice by now to activate her abilities without even speaking, but she still spoke out loud most of the time so that her allies knew what she was up to giving them a chance to get out of the way depending on where they were on the battlefield. Because even though she mainly spoke English, it was discovered that her powers had a natural translation ability that let anyone of any language know what she was doing, that ways if she was in a multinational situation everyone knew what was going on without her having to translate what she was saying several different times. Three days later Sara was resting when she heard something headed her way, she quickly got into some thicker brush and simply remained hidden, though she also made sure her bow and arrow was ready so that she wasn't  _too_  loud and inadvertently reveal her position to possible enemies in the area. The group she heard stopped having noticed her camp but when she saw the uniforms it was understandable seeing as how she could instantly see that they were SAS soldiers doing an exercise away from Brecon Beacons so that they could handle any terrain. When she saw they were friends she came out hands up and they turned hearing her


	40. Chapter 40

"Who are you?"

"I'm Lt. Kerenai soldier, if you look in my bags I have transfer orders in there, they're in the bag on the left side of the horse"

The leader of the group looks and finds said transfer orders and he quickly confirmed them as authentic. He then handed her the orders back

"Looks like you're telling the truth, we're on patrol seeing as how the enemy is a tricky one and we noticed your camp, not through smoke but because we saw disturbed dirt that most people wouldn't notice because they aren't trained for it like we are. If you want we can escort you to the edge of our patrol borders, that ways you'll be a bit safer than on your own"

"I appreciate the offer and I will accept it but only because I get the feeling you won't let me do anything else, you have an air about you as someone who expects to be obeyed"

"Well considering I was in a war a few years ago and was promoted to the rank I am now due to said war I would hope so"

"Which war, the war for freedom?"

"No this war was fifteen years before that war, I have served for much longer than most soldiers though I will be retiring soon I think. Fifteen years before the war for earth's freedom I was just in the army for just under a year when trouble happened in the Falklands again, because it appears that Argentina hadn't learned it's lesson from the last time. They attacked our island and declared war on us and any who would aid us, America wanted to join in but our Prime Minister forbade it due to the fact that they had just been dealt a harsh blow with both their President and Vice President assassinated on the same day during an ordinary meeting, the Speaker of the House had just taken the oath only fifteen hours earlier so our Prime Minister felt that America was still in too much turmoil to actually be able to competently help us with our problems. Anyhow we eventually arrived and started to get people evacuated because of just how dangerous Argentina had become without anyone noticing not even the EDC. They succeeded in ambushing several different units as we were heading to shore, to be honest there are still times I don't know how I managed to get to the safety of an alley but I and a few others from different units succeeded. We sort of formed our own unit due to the loss of our comrades, we didn't really have anyone of proper rank with us because they were all killed and our new unit made of mix mashed units had all graduated at the same time except for one or two so we all had equal time in rank. Everyone was panicking but I was the first one to actually calm down and use my senses so I was the one who became the leader" (scoffs) "leader, I lead those men to their deaths eventually, we stayed and used guerrilla war tactics against the enemy which kept us alive for several months. We never got reinforcements because we simply couldn't ask for it with potentially compromised radio frequencies. My unit and I lasted six months before we were captured and most of them killed, they died without knowing that Britain had sent reinforcements on their own when certain ships didn't report in when they should have. I was rescued after three months as a POW and I healed enough to become SAS eventually, though I first stayed several years as a regular forces person, rising pretty high in rank so fast because of my actions in the war. People questioned me at first because I had been promoted so quickly and so unexpectedly but they soon learned I had battlefield experience to back me up and they stopped questioning my orders...well except one time but that was because of the fact that I was dead on my feet when I gave the attack order I did and my second in command countermanded that order on suspension of her commanding officer not being in condition to give orders, after I rested for two days straight and heard what had happened I actually put in for an commendation and promotion, she got the commendation but not the promotion, she was still a bit too young for that in the eyes of command but hey I respected her even more for what she had done. Well anyways like I said we'll provide an escort to the edge of our borders and then you're on your own again"

"I know and I thank you for such thought for my safety"

"No problem at all Lt. though you actually seemed a bit surprised about the history I just gave you but you look like you're old enough to remember fifteen years ago"

(Sighs) "I'm afraid that's not quite the truth, technically I'm older than what you think but at the same time I wasn't around for that, you see I was in cryogenic suspension and while once I woke up I got a brief history update no one told me about the assassination that had happened years before I woke up"

"Why do I get the feeling that should never have been hidden from you?"

"Because it shouldn't have but they might have had their reasons"

Suddenly though Sara had her bow and arrow out and ready for a fight, the rest of the soldiers looked about them and then saw the enemy in the air

"So time to fight"

"Nope, hold your fire, you shouldn't waste bullets on these losers, I'm just using the arrow as a warning that there are people armed and willing to fight if they push it"

She let's loose the arrow and they quickly see that the enemy retreats with what would be a minor wound in a human

"Let's move they might come back and quite frankly while I can most definitely handle that with my skills I'd rather not if it can be avoided"

"Yeah same here but might I suggest we take an even less direct route than what you were already taking to your base?"

"Yeah sounds best"

They continued to travel when suddenly they noticed a marked change in Sara's behavior because she suddenly had her bow and arrows ready and started firing them at the sky. When they got a good look at what she was shooting at they too brought out their weapons knowing exactly what was going on

"Come on I thought these guys were finished after last time"

"Looks like they didn't get the message, and now I'm out of arrows do you guys have enough magazines to spare some?"

"Yeah but you don't have any..."

Sara produces the rifle that no one had noticed due to her powers and quickly starts using it to take down enemies. Eventually though the enemy did get the message and fully retreated

"Finally they're gone, let's hope nothing else happens while I'm in the area"

"Say I noticed you didn't have a knife on you Kerenai and I'm wondering why"

"Simple I left my K-bar knife here with my Marines due to the fact that I used it to kill a snake right before I left them I know I'll get it back once I return after all they should know by now that I'm alive considering what I've been doing these past few months"

"Well why have you chosen the lesser known horse paths?"

"I was told of what has been going on and decided the lesser used paths would be the best chance to get to the base safely"

"Yeah guess you're right, well like I already said we'll take you to the border of our patrol and then you're on your own again, though we will send out messages about your journey so that others will already know to let you safe passage to your new base"

"Okay but I need to make some new arrows before we go any where's else because while I am good with a gun there are times when the bow and arrow are better"

"Okay but please try and make it quick, and...if he'll allow me I'll ride your horse for a bit, you look like you haven't had a decent sleep in a while"

"Okay will do because you're right I haven't really had decent sleep in a while. I move at night and sleep during the day but my body is so tuned to danger that I tend to wake at the slightest thing"

"I've no doubt about that, okay into the truck once you're done with the arrows"

Sara quickly makes more arrows and then does indeed go into a truck and promptly goes to sleep, a deep sleep she hadn't had in years being a trained soldier and almost constantly in a danger zone. Over the next few days they noticed that Sara was ever alert while awake but at night when she was asleep, they noticed that there was a tension there that was being ever so slowly released, except during nightmares that she occasionally suffered

"Except during her nightmares it appears that there's tension there being released in her sleep"

"Yes, the tension of someone constantly on the run...I don't think even you can fully appreciate what she's been through being as young as you are, the last war for earth's freedom didn't last that long and some countries either weren't affected at all or the affection wasn't as severe in places. When one doesn't know who they can trust or where they can next sleep they develop a sixth sense that is never completely gone and they are so tense, once in the company of allies they finally start to relax but only a little, the tension you see being relieved won't be completely gone and once she's away from our protection she'll be ever vigilant again. Plus there are the nightmares one might suffer during the night, no she'll never completely relax until death finds her it's just too dangerous for her"

"How do you know so much?"

"Have you already forgotten the story I told her earlier about the Falklands?"

"Guess I did sorry"

"I know, though from what I gather I haven't been through nearly as much as her, yet she still has respect for what I've been through"

"How can you tell she hasn't said anything"

"No she hasn't, at least verbally but her actions speak just as loud"

Eventually the two groups had to separate at the invisible border that the SAS guarded

"We'll send a message to the others so that they know about you and the safe passage you've been granted through your transfer orders"

"I know, hopefully it won't be needed but I will welcome it if it is"

"We know, now go, the enemy must not catch us unawares and unguarded through talking to you"

Four weeks later the base Sara had been transferred to received visitors but not the one that was expected, instead they were British soldiers who were just passing through

"We need to see the base commander and American Marines"

"Both groups are busy if you could wait in the main area I'm sure once they have time..."

"No, we need to see them now"

The tone of voice told the soldier that it was important

"Alright I'll take you to the commander's office but both he and the American Marines are currently on the range so it'll take a few minutes"

The group goes inside with a wrapped object that no one knew what it was because of just how tightly it was held. Five minutes later the Marines and base commander were inside the office


	41. Chapter 41

"You needed to see us?"

"Yes, we have something we need to return to you Marines and explain to you commander"

They bring out the bundled object and unwrap it to reveal Sara's broken bow and arrows

"Where did you get this?"

"In a field about a week away through driving. We were on patrol when we found this and we instantly knew who's it was because of the message that had been sent throughout patrols"

"Tell us?"

_A week earlier_

"So you heard the sounds of battle in this direction two nights ago?"

"Yes sir, look it doesn't hurt to look does it?"

"No it doesn't"

They look for signs of battle and then a lower ranking soldier finds the bow and arrows covered in blood and the bow was broken in two, they also found the transfer orders

"Sir, we need to get to the base that's on these orders, we need to return this"

"Yes we do, we might not know what exactly happened to Lt. Kerenai of the US Marines but we can at least return something to them"

_Present_

"And that's what happened, we're sorry we weren't there for the Lt. when she needed us most"

"It's not your fault you did the best you could, Sara must have taken the most indirect route to get here for our safety, thank you for returning her bow and arrows to us"

"No problem, you should know that one of my men spent time in America, specifically with Native Americans who taught the art of tracking and he thought he had detected some tracks that he could use to try and find Lt. Kerenai. If she's found we'll return her to this base  _if_  we feel she'll survive the journey from where she's being kept"

"Very well, in the meantime Britain and the rest of NATO" (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) "have decided that America has been enslaved for long enough"

"So we're going to start getting ready to fight for America's freedom?"

"Exactly"

For the next two years NATO sent men and supplies to free America by freeing states before finally heading to the capitol and freeing the country once and for all by taking back the capitol of the country. Once that was done NATO stayed for another two months while America started to restabilize from being enslaved for so long, Britain told the new President of the death of Kerenai and she was mourned along with everyone else lost during the time that American forces were forced to be with other countries for their safety. It would be another six years before anyone would learn the truth about the fact that Sara Kerenai wasn't killed like believed but taken captive by domestic terrorists who wanted to attack military bases they had seen Kerenai at before the Hawaii mission. Sara had never broken but she was tortured on a regular basis and was physically weakening to the point of death. Sara had been through torture before and while what she was going through wasn't any where's close to what she had been through before they were still being pretty brutal actually succeeding in half starving her to death because of how infrequently she was given food. It had been six years to the day since Britain had informed America of Lt. Kerenai's death and the unit who had discovered Sara's bow and arrows had recently heard of the domestic terrorists and had been given permission by the Prime Minister to try and deal with the terrorists before anymore trouble happened thanks to them, the main reason that decision had been made was because any specially trained police officers were instantly killed and thus that meant the military had to step in. The unit raided the house and made sure it was secure before they searched for weapons and possible captives, and in the basement they found Sara bleeding and near death. They could tell that because of just how delirious she was acting

"I've toldyou, I won't give you an'thin' that will betray the Brish gove'ment"

"Easy we're here to get you out of here"

"Li's, jus' dream like alw'ys"

The medic of the team simply shakes their head in defeat and drugs her, taking notice that it took a stronger sedative and much longer for her to go to sleep

"Just who is this person and how are they immune to sedatives?"

"Don't know but I don't think we can do a whole lot until we know medical history, I don't want to kill them by accident by giving them something they're allergic to"

"Agreed, they need taken to a hospital anyways though without medical history it will be hard for them to treat the person"

They reach the hospital about half an hour later and they are given a full report from the unit's medic everything they knew

"By the way, she appears to be resistant to sedatives so be careful I had to use a medium strength sedative and it still took about ten minutes for the sedative to work, oh and the police will be coming so that we can fingerprint her as a means to ID her because we have no clue who she is"

"Understood, looks like we're limited in what we can do for her until we know her medical history"

"Yeah sorry about that, but if I hadn't sedated her she wouldn't have gone any where's with us she was that combative due to delirium"

The police officer who eventually took Sara's fingerprints used an international database due to the fact that the soldiers mentioned she might have had an American accent but they weren't quite sure seeing as how she slurred her words and the results he got back were impossible

"This is impossible"

"What is it constable?"

"Sir there's a dead American soldier in a nearby hospital, she's been dead for eight years now, well eight for Britain only six for America"

"There are some American soldiers in port today, maybe they can ascertain the truth"

"Let's hope then because if I'm reading this right the antibiotics are limited"

"Medical allergies?"

"Exactly sir"

A Marine who had actually served alongside Kerenai before the split in Africa confirmed it was her and gave them strictly medical information that she was allergic to anything that ended in cillin

"We'll need to retest her to see if she's still military fit, but until then she's an American soldier and will be covered by the US government, but we would like to transfer her to America as soon as it's safe, but in the meantime I'll see about new tags being made for her, or having her old tags brought over"

"That's a good idea"

"Oh, one more thing, a British doctor told us about two years ago that he finally completed the project he had started so that Lt. Kerenai could eat normally again and it had been approved only six months earlier, he never gave up on that even though the person he had started doing it for was dead. I hope you get in contact with that doctor so that she can eat normal size meals again, it's been too long according to her outdated medical files"

"She'll only be able to have fluids for a while"

"She only eats about half a bowl of soup normally, being half starved to death for real this time might make that worse"

"We'll work on it, but I won't do any procedure until I know she can handle solids"

"Of course doctor we're just telling you what we know, now then I'll see what I can do in regards to military tags so that everyone knows what she can and can't have, because I think she has some dietary restrictions as well besides what we've told you"

Three days later a packet arrived with the promised tags, the doctor was surprised they came so fast but he wouldn't have been if he had been told the story behind the tags. Six years earlier when Sara's death had been explained by the British government the new President wondered what he could do to honor her sacrifice that she had made for Britain, displaying just as much loyalty to them as she had always displayed to America. He ultimately decided to give them special ID tags that could act as her real tags if she was ever found, dead or alive seeing as how that day eight years ago when her bow was found they had also discovered her tags which they didn't know at the time were deliberately taken off by her so that her captures didn't realize just how important she was to another country as she was still wearing the British uniform. Her tags had been modified as soon as she had invoked the special rule that had allowed her to wear the British uniform, it identified her as a soldier for both Britain and America and Sara didn't want her captures to know that. As such when she had been found eight years after captivity the soldiers couldn't ID her through her tags. When Britain and America found out who it was they activated the special commemorative tags Britain had and mailed them to the hospital that Sara was currently being cared for at. The soldier that put the tags back on her made an excellent statement that was also true no matter what her physical condition ultimately was in regards to if she could once again be in the service of her country

"There we go, a proper military officer again, you showed those creeps not to mess with America or they would regret it through not obtaining wanted information, good work Lt. Kerenai good work"

"So she was a good little soldier that resisted torture for eight years?"

"Exactly, they probably wanted information on British bases but she never told otherwise bases would have been attacked years ago"

"We'll take good care of her and once we think she's stable enough she'll go the Bethesda I promise"

"Thanks we needed to hear that, oh she might be a bit disoriented when she finally wakes up due to the fact that you've had her heavily sedated for days now so allow her to sleep, be gentle with her and don't take it personally if she doesn't believe you at first"

"Don't worry this hospital handles both civilian and military people, I've seen POW's and people abducted for money, also a few cops as well I know that people who have been tortured don't always know that they're safe at first. We'll take it slowly until she believes us and realizes she's safe"

"Good, then that means I will have no worries about her coming out of sedation in a British hospital surrounded by strange uniforms, though I hope to bring her home within a few months"

"Same here, and it's not because we don't want to take care of her, she needs to be in her own country with her own people it will help keep her calm and heal her faster if she's in familiar surroundings"

"For now I doubt she's stable enough to even be moved to a military hospital much less across the ocean hours away"

(Sighs) "I fear you're right, we almost lost her yesterday to high fever, she is not yet stable to even be moved from this room and this is what America would call the ICU" (Intensive Care Unit)

"Well I have a ship to return to because we're only in port to resupply, and you have medical files to update so that no one gives Lt. Kerenai something she's not supposed to have"

The doctor looks at the medical information and has a question before the soldier leaves

"Bluebottle venom? I've never heard of such an allergy, does this mean she's not allowed to eat seafood?"

"She can eat seafood it's just the venom she's allergic to for whatever reason"

"Looks like there are some more medicines she can't have due to some medications using their venom to help patients though that's only been in recent years"

"Yeah, good thing everyone knows that then, um are you going to refill the epi-pen prescription?"

"No that's up to American doctors, now then get out of here she's in good hands"

"Right, don't forget to call Bethesda before you transfer her so that they know she's coming"

"Don't worry I know transfer protocols for hospitals I'm a doctor"

Over the next three days the hospital finally started to bring Sara out of sedation being very careful about how she reacted to the outside world as she could sense more and more of it. They soon noticed that she had nightmares which meant that they had to watch to see if she needed restrained because the doctor's who had dealt with people taken captive knew what could happen if not handled carefully. The doctor's still learning were wary of what was going on with the one patient in ICU but they trusted their superiors, then three days after Sara was slowly taken off sedation she woke up after being in the throes of a nightmare

"Someone get her main doctor in here"

Just as Sara's doctor gets there Sara wakes up breathing harshly

"Easy Lt. you're safe, you're in a hospital and the creeps who had you are either dead or in custody"

"Lies all lies, I know that you want information and are tricking me into thinking I'm safe"

(Sighs) "I'm telling the truth Kerenai, please listen to the doctor"

Things remained chaotic until they heard someone shout out something that to most people didn't make sense but Sara suddenly stopped struggling and actually started  _looking_  at where she was

"Hospital? I'm actually in a hospital?"

"Yes Lt. you're in a hospital, the terrorists who took you are either dead or in prison and you've been here for almost a full week now but definitely safe"

Sara leans back into the pillow hearing that and everyone could tell that she was relieved

"Sorry for fighting you doctor and for not listening when you said I was free"

(Shakes his head) "I know you didn't mean it, I've dealt with people who have been captured and tortured before I know the drill"

"When will I be transferred?"

"I don't know yet, your years of captivity did severe damage, I want you on at least liquids before I release you to Bethesda"

"I see, well you should know that these creeps actually managed to starve me half to death"

"We know, but you should know the doctor that promised to find a cure to your condition did it about two years ago, but that will have to wait until you're strong enough and can eat solids at a normal level again...well what's normal for you anyways"

Sara worked hard to be able to go home and the hospital even started on a form of physical therapy that wouldn't interfere with any therapy that she would receive in Bethesda, they worked mainly on her eye to hand coordination so that she could actually take in the liquid diet she was on. Two months after she woke up she was transferred to Bethesda everyone finally agreeing she was strong enough for the trip, she would stay in Bethesda another three months regaining not only her strength but also her appetite, because two months after she had arrived in Bethesda she was deemed strong enough for the procedure the British doctor perfected for people with her condition and she was finally able to eat normal portions again after so many years. While she was regaining her appetite she was also regaining her strength so that if she passed the tests she would be able to rejoin the military service, with her unique ability to use the bow and arrows. She was also visited by her family on a regular basis who tested her strength in other ways so that they too knew that she was able to take care of herself in the military should she so choose to rejoin


	42. Chapter 42

*Guys I'm fine, I can finally shoot a bow and arrow like I used to and once the doctor's are happy enough I'm going to go back into the service and special forces like I used to do*

*You do know that you might not qualify for the special services anymore*

*Worth a try though, besides I've talked with the psychiatrists and I'm doing fine, my nightmares have diminished and everyone knows that I will probably always deal with nightmares from multiple incidents, the most recent are finally fading into memory*

*And what about your appetite, that's been affected the longest and your family was unable to help you with that a British doctor had to be the one to find the solution*

*I never blamed you guys for that, you were either in hiding yourselves or while you tried things that you thought would work the doctor also tried and he had more funding and the ability to test his procedures with willing patients much easier than you guys*

*You have a point and actually he asked us for help on occasion so I guess we did help find the cure you needed in a way*

*Exactly*

Finally Sara was cleared to try and rejoin the military and she actually succeeded because while the different branches had different requirements in regard to service and special forces some of the basics were so similar that passing the basics for one branch meant that she didn't have to do some of the basics for the others. She started in the Army this time and since she passed shooting practice for the Army the other branches didn't force her to qualify for any of the weapons in any of their service except once, the Navy had a new weapon that none of the other branches had so it was decided for her safety that Sara qualify for that new weapon and Sara easily agreed to it as it made sense. She would also qualify for all the special forces for each branch as well. All of that would take two years this time because of a training accident that took her out for several months but considering how the accident happened it was understandable, after all several people each year got injured in parachuting. It wasn't even Sara's fault, the wind did a sudden shift very violently and forced her into the trees, and when she landed she broke a leg due to the angle she landed in the tree. While everyone learned the whole aspect of leave no man behind they also learned the aspect of being forced to leave people behind, especially in the Marine corps they had to learn it very harshly, and unfortunately it happened in war because of the fact that the situation called for it and fortunately that was the last thing Sara had to re qualify for because of how they decided to do the qualifications that time

_Marine training_

"Today if there is a casualty you will take the tags and then leave, we may have taught you not to leave a man behind but there are situations where you will be forced to do exactly that. It's more common in special ops groups but sometimes regular forces are forced to leave bodies behind as well, sometimes never to be recovered depending on what happens"

The recruits actually didn't believe their instructors, or at least most of them didn't. There was one in the group that knew what the instructor was talking about and understood what was going on. They simply gave a barely perceptible nod at the instructors knowing what was going on. The instructors also decided to split the Marines into small groups to see how they handled things. Eventually a casualty was declared and they were dead

"Get the tags and let's leave"

"But..."

"We leave,  _now_  there's nothing we can do for him"

"We don't leave a comrade behind!"

"Do you  _want_  to be killed?"

The Marines didn't listen though and there were more casualties, Sara ultimately took the tags of pretty much everyone in her unit and left with only three survivors

"We have to join up with another group and soon, otherwise we won't survive"

" _You_  are not in charge of this group due to the fact that you abandoned your comrades"

"Fine then you decide what we do"

The recruit got herself and the other two killed and Sara was ultimately the only one left in her unit, she eventually hooked up with another unit and explained that she was the only survivor. They eventually made it through the rest of the course and the instructors instantly knew what had happened considering Sara was not with her assigned group

"Don't tell me let me guess, all of them are casualties due to stupidity"

"Exactly, the one recruit decided that since I abandoned our comrades I wasn't in charge and thus they never listened to my suggestions and got herself and the other two killed. I stayed behind per my ' _orders_ ' and that's the only reason why I'm 'alive' right now, I barely managed to get their tags and as you can see I got myself wounded doing so"

It was true too, Sara was informed that her right leg was injured so she bound the wound and acted like the leg was injured the whole rest of the exercise

"Looks like everyone will have to go through this course again until they get the point that they can't always take comrades bodies with them, sorry Kerenai but that includes you as well"

"Yes sir I think I understand why as well"

"Oh what do you think you need to redo it for?"

"Simple since I already passed the test I can explain why it might have to be done that we leave comrades behind if they are dead. Actually I am enacting code Delta 71"

"Are you absolutely sure about doing that?"

"No but honestly I don't think they'll get the point of the exercise otherwise"

"Sorry Kerenai but if you're not positive you know you can't enact the code"

(Sighs) "I forgot that actually, very well I won't say anything but honestly if they don't listen a second time around you might have to tell stories that explain why we sometimes have to do what this exercise is all about"

"Don't worry we know what we have to do"

"I sometimes wonder about that, so much has changed since my sleep"

"You say something Kerenai?"

"Sorry just thinking aloud and you know why"

"Sorry it's just this situation is so unique most of us instructors just don't know how to handle it"

(Sighs) "I know and I'm sorry for doubting you guys but honestly I sometimes wonder what the government is teaching people when cadets and recruits both don't understand why something's happen the way they do and why"

"We've been trying to teach people the reason why we leave people behind for a while now but it seems that some recruits just don't get it"

"Well maybe you should..."

Sara suddenly whipped around with her backup piece out and aimed at an unseen foe. The military had learned that Sara equally used both the bow and arrow and also the service weapons depending on what she heard, though the instructors were initially surprised to see the hand gun out seeing as how she still had her rifle but they quickly figured that she was out of bullets for the rifle. The intruders soon revealed themselves to be other recruits coming from the wrong direction, when Sara saw that she put away her gun sighing in relief

"I could have killed you guys coming from that direction, you know that you have strict instructions to come to us from the other direction and there are reasons for that"

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that the training field is in the direction you were  _supposed_  to come from, that ways the instructors and recruits that finished before you knew that it was you and not a possible intruder, because this island has been invaded a few times both air and land if I recall my history correctly"

"Your history is correct Kerenai, we have our rules for a reason, a safety reason at that, so I would appreciate it if you would follow them, oh and you're doing the exercise again because you failed to understand the point of said exercise"

This time around they killed Sara off pretty quickly because she had decided not to use her powers because she knew she couldn't use them all the time. The entire unit was killed this time because the recruits  _still_  didn't understand the reason they were told to leave men behind after having been taught to never leave a man behind during all of their training. The instructors quickly realized that there was no other option but to explain to the recruits why they were being trained to leave people behind when they have always been told to never do that


	43. Chapter 43

"Alright special classroom time recruits, let's go down to the fighting ring and see if it's in use because if it's not you're going to be getting a whole lot of stories"

"Actually we need an actual classroom, they need to see video Instructor P"

"Oh forgot about that okay change of plans classroom time"

"First we have a question how did fellow recruit Kerenai know which direction we were coming from? Because no one else here can unless you're an instructor and have been in battle"

"Sorry not telling"

"Yes you are, you are a recruit just like us and I want to know how you can tell which direction an enemy is coming from, besides you use the bow and arrows just how on earth is that possible when we use guns?"

"You are getting dangerously close to getting yourself in trouble for trying to find out classified information Private, I would stop now if I were you"

Everyone turned at hearing the head instructors voice

"Sir we were just about to show them video to teach them why they are taught they sometimes have to leave a comrade behind"

"Carry on instructors, carry on but I need to see Private Kerenai"

Kerenai leaves with the head instructor while the rest of the recruits leave with the other instructors

"Sorry Lt. but you've been called back into active duty"

"Sir don't you think that my fellow recruits will get suspicious that I've been called to active duty without completing the training"

(Sighs) "I'm afraid we have no other choice Lt. we lost two whole squads of Marines three weeks ago, they were scouting the Philippines due to the fact that there's been some unrest there lately and we wanted to see why that was happening. Turns out that some Japanese want the Philippine islands back and they won't take no for an answer, a Marine managed to send out a message before he was killed which is how we know what's going on. I never wanted to risk your identity being found out but your country needs you now"

"I understand sir, when am I shipping out?"

"Tomorrow, with the rest of your fellow recruits"

That surprises Sara for a moment and then she finds her voice again

"But sir, they're not ready, they still have three weeks of training left and besides a good portion of them didn't get the point of today's exercise of leaving a comrade behind due to not having any other choice, if we send them out now..."

"That was my argument as well but as I said we lost two whole squads of Marines, we have no other choice in the matter, here are your orders straight from the President, and here are mine as well"

Sara reads both orders and realizes that their hands were tied

(Sighs) "I understand sir, request permission to pack?"

"Sorry but that is not granted I have a whole squad of raw recruits to inform of the situation, this means that effective immediately after I tell them the situation you're squad commander"

(Sighs) "I need everyone's files then because I am  _not_  having us move across those islands as one unit too easy to ambush I'm going to split us up into four to five man teams like we would normally operate, that ways if one team goes down the enemy doesn't take all of us down"

"Very well but that happens  _after_  I inform the recruits of the situation, now come on we have a lesson to interrupt"

They get to the classroom just as a clip is finished being shown

"And in that situation...you need something sir?"

"Indeed I do, attention!"

The entire class stands up at attention at that commanding voice including the instructors

"Three weeks ago, we lost two squads of Marines in the Philippine islands doing a scouting mission, what they found was that Japan wanted the islands back, a Marine managed to relay that before he died, however we couldn't confirm their deaths until forty-eight hours ago so they were deemed MIA, now that we know that they're dead you recruits who have three weeks or less of training left are being called into active duty. Lt. Kerenai here is going to be your commanding officer though she has stated she's splitting you guys up into smaller groups, whatever she says goes and those are orders from the President himself so I wouldn't argue if I were you, now then..."

The Private who just didn't know when to quite speaks up again without permission

"Hang on how can  _she_  be ranked Lt. when she has been in training with us from the beginning?"

"Did our instructor give you permission to speak  _Private_?"

"I don't have to listen to you as a fellow Private, Private"

All the instructors winced at hearing that because that was the wrong thing to say to Sara considering what they knew she had been through

"You just made a big mistake Private"

The new recruits suddenly had a chill down their spine because of the fact that Sara's tone of voice had done a sudden change to one they had never heard before from her mouth

"Lt. do I need to order you to stand down?"

"No sir, however I would like you to finish your debriefing because I have a lot of files to read and not much time to do so, not if I want cohesive units by the time we reach the Philippines"

"Yeah right you're lying"

"Alright Private, you want to go at it then let's go, to the fighting ring if you really want to contest us"

They go outside to the fight ring and the two go at it, but Sara quickly wins because it was simple hand to hand combat no protection as if in the real world. Eventually Sara won the bout

"Next time you question me or the training commander it won't be me that you deal with but someone up much higher in the command, I would suggest you remember that, now then commander you were giving us a debrief?"

The base commander finally finished his mission debrief and what they were supposed to do in the Philippine islands and also some sub missions if they could manage it

"By the way the video that you've seen will have to be the best explanation for why we teach you to leave people behind because sometimes you just don't have a choice, we advocate leave no man behind but we also now understand that sometimes the situation calls for just that"

"He's right now then someone make sure the Lt.'s bags are packed while she gets started on everyone's file so she can make the best teams possible"

"So a Lt. can't do grunt work is that it?"

"Actually I'm pretty sure my bag is already packed, but it doesn't hurt to make sure I have all the essential items, and if not for the fact that I have files to read so that I can make squads of four to five men I'd be doing that myself, I'm sorry you think I'm shirking my duties but it is what it is"

It was quickly discovered that everyone seemed against the Lt. and that wasn't a good thing, though Sara did manage to make a team from the rest of the recruits she just could find a group that would listen and obey her orders without question, and then they discovered something about the enemy that they had never known before

"Cocky idiots, putting a concentration camp right where an American base was right before world war two I can't believe that they did something like that"

"Probably think that we won't do anything about it and that we don't even know what they've done"

"Yeah that's cockiness to a fault, so what do we do about it?"

"For now nothing, we're in America which means we can't really do anything about what's going on on those islands until we get there. My main concern is that while I made good teams there's no one with me and people might argue with me just because I'm the one that made the teams, they don't trust me which I honestly don't blame them for that but they also won't listen to our reasons as to why we did what we did"

"So what do you suggest?"

"I honestly don't know what to do about this, because while this has happened before in history it was never so bad and the recruits trust the instructors that there's a reason behind what they've learned"

"We'll figure something out Lt. even if you have to be with older soldiers who would normally not take orders from a younger person especially one that doesn't look old enough to have the rank of Lt."

"Hey I'm in my thirties I'm old enough"

"But how long have you had the rank?"

"Point taken, well we'll deal with it as we go"

They eventually make it to the Philippine islands and Sara quickly finds out that the enemy was tricky, the Japanese did exactly as in the movie Battleground: Los Angles, they tracked the military radio signals. Sara quickly went to a newly made Forward Operating Base or F.O.B and went in looking worse for wear but alive, she was quickly escorted to the communications tent per her request


	44. Chapter 44

"Have you used that thing yet?"

"Not today"

"Good, then you won't have to move again, now then give me the radio real quick because I got a message to send out. Attention all military personnel this is Lt. Kerenai, these are my last orders to you, if you haven't already figured it out the enemy is tracking our radio signals do not I repeat  _do not_  use those radios anymore unless you want to ambush the enemy Lt. Kerenai out"

She then cuts off the radio and sees people staring at her

"If the enemy is tracking our radio signals how do you know you haven't led them right to us?"

"Because of my powers I activated a radio jamming signal that prevents the enemy from tracking where our signals are"

"What about the raw recruits that you came with?"

"Hopefully they got the message and are listening this time, though I doubt it they didn't listen to me the day the secret was let out and I doubt they'll listen now but one can hope"

"Which secret?"

"The one where I am actually a Lt. and not a Private, though like I said they didn't listen to me then so it's not very likely they'll listen to me now"

"Well we'll have to take the wait and see approach"

"I know, now then I'm going to go hunting for food, because if you guys just got here I highly doubt you have provisions, if I'm not back in three hours I am injured, captured or dead. I wouldn't send anyone after me in case I am captured or dead"

"We understand, three hours that's it one minute over and we declare you MIA for everyone's safety"

"No problem, if people find me while on patrol then they can help  _if_  they can do so safely"

She leaves the base nocking an arrow into the bow as she leaves. When questioned about the bow and arrows several soldiers were told not to ask because they either didn't need to know or no one knew how to explain why a soldier even had such an antiquated weapon in the first place. The guards that kept watch at the main gate were told to keep an eye out for her after three hours, when the three hours passed they saw Sara return with a nice chunk of meat on her shoulders. When she returned the base commander took one look at her and asked a basic question that made sense

"Got any plans for that meat?"

"That I do we cook it and then have a nice pig for dinner with some other types of food"

"How long will this boar last?"

"Only for dinner and that depends on who all eats the food, because honestly we don't really have that much meat here. I only just regained my ability to eat a normal amount of food this past year and I know I can't eat this much meat, but some people might not want to eat this"

"If we can't find anything else they'll have to eat it after all it will be the only food available to them"

"Well most people only have the basic SERE training and how to eat food they have no other choice but to eat, I am the only person at base who has the training to do it on a regular basis and you know full well why base commander"

"Yes I do, and if it comes to it I know you know how to prep that boar to last for at least a week"

"True enough, ask around and then we'll deal with the consequences of the answers to those questions"

"Say did you find  _anything_  else that seemed good to eat while on the hunt?"

"Sorry but no, now then we'll have normal food soon I hope so we don't have to worry about hunting, once that's done we can start working on freeing the Philippines, or at least start getting the island free"

"We'll do something, and we'll take out Japan I promise you know we will"

(Sighs) "I know that, but still it's hard to have Japan force us into hiding"

"Hey the Philippines are also not happy about what is currently happening, especially considering one of the enemies bases location and you know that"

"True enough, well then let's get this meat cooked and then start planning on attacking the base"

A few days later a coded message came in for Sara and the base commander let Sara know about it

"Though it's strange you're getting a coded message just days before we do the raid on the concentration camp almost as if it was planned"

"Who knows it may have been, I have been giving command regular updates per my orders"

But as soon as Sara saw what was in the coded message she understood that this was not planned because the President himself would have wanted the attack on the camp to happen with her there but what was in the message was more important by a lot. No one knew what was in the message but they could tell it was important because Sara's face  _paled_  after reading the coded message

"Commander you're now in charge of the attack on the camp, I have to do something else"

"But Lt. I..."

"Sorry Commander but I have separate orders I need to follow, orders that were coded for a reason"

The base commander simply sighs in recognition of what had just been said and nodded his understanding of his new orders

"Is there anything about the attack I need to know that I haven't known before?"

"I was actually going to tell you later today that I was going to change the time of the attack to early dawn, normally I wouldn't but the Japanese might expect a nighttime attack and doing it at dawn may give us a chance to surprise them, oh and I want another group added, a medical group that stays outside of the battle but is on hand should there be any trouble that battlefield medics either can't handle or have injuries too severe to handle effectively enough to keep alive long enough for the trip back to base"

"Understood, when should I expect you back?"

"I honestly don't know how long these new orders will take"

"Understood Lt. just do your best to get back alive"

"I should warn you of something else, according to some Japanese dissidents those who want the Philippine islands have Katanas as a weapon, just thought you should know so that you can prepare the soldiers and medics for possible sword injuries"

"Weren't those banned except for shows that showed swordsmanship as an art?"

"Yes but these Japanese don't want to listen so they have Katanas as weapons"

"Understood I'll do my best"

Sara then leaves confusing most of the camp not knowing that she was the only person who might do so at a moments notice due to being directly under the President's command and possibly being ordered into action at a moments notice away from any team she found herself in. They had also noticed that she had left behind her defining weapon the bow and arrows, which is how allies now identified her as friend instead of foe because it was so familiar to see her with the old antiquated weapon than without

"Sir what is going on?"

"She has received coded orders"

"But for her to leave her bow and arrows is practically unheard of"

"I know which concerns me as it means the mission she is doing requires absolute stealth, because Lt. Kerenai is becoming known to use the bow and arrow as well as rifles as a weapon, and enemies might find her out with that weapon if she brings it. And if that happens that means they will have a very unwilling bargaining chip for the American government, which we all know will never give into terrorist demands"

"What do you mean by unwilling?"

"She'll do everything she can think of to escape and if she can't escape she has literally in training exercises told the American government to forget about her and focus on taking out the terrorists even at the cost of her own life"

"Dang she's devoted to her country willing to openly state that on a hostage video"

"Yeah she is, look for now all we can do is follow orders and hope that the Lt. will be okay and return to us safely, and let's also hope we run into Marines still out in the field"

"Do you really think some of them didn't listen to the Lt. simply because of the fact that she hid herself amongst themselves for training?"

"Actually I do believe because I have heard it myself, I don't know why they didn't listen to her but I do know why the Lt. did what she did. And no you don't have the clearance to know what I know unless you're a fellow EDC kid which I highly doubt you are"

"You're correct I'm not an EDC kid however I recently gained some pretty high security clearance"

"What for?"

"A government project that I was working on while on separate assignment from the rest of the unit, and even though you're an EDC kid I doubt you have the proper security clearance"

"What's your security clearance level now?"

The base commander was told and nodded in acknowledgment of the level, and the level he needed to know about the project

"Well you're actually just one level below the needed security clearance while I technically have the proper clearance to know about your project but since it has yet to affect me I don't need to know. But I am giving you an order to tell me if that project has a direct affect on me or this unit is that understood soldier?"

"Yes sir, and we do have permission to tell if it affects our unit and commander's"

"Okay then we will get a good cooperation"

Months passed and there was no sign of Sara, but they did manage to free the Philippine islands. Then two weeks after the islands were freed and while the UN was setting up relief efforts the natives started acting excited and one of the people who knew English stated that an American soldier was needed. An Admiral surveying the damage agreed to go with the locals and followed them to an abandoned camp that was obviously made by the enemy. When he got there he saw a gruesome scene, Lt. Sara Kerenai with a Katana right where her heart would be, no one knew how long she had been like that but they all knew she was dead

"Sorry this happened to you Lt."

The Admiral pulled out the Katana from her body and received the shock of his life, Sara groaned from pain and briefly opened her eyes. They hadn't been focused and only half opened but they  _had_ opened showing she was still alive. The Admiral quickly put pressure on the wound and requested that they go back to the relief camp and get a medic to him immediately, which a local did exactly that and when the medic arrived on scene they did what they could to stabilize her and then ordered her moved to a clearing so that she could be medivaced to a hospital ship

"She won't survive otherwise sir, in fact I have absolutely no idea how she's even alive now considering where her wound was"

"I know I wasn't expecting her alive either and yet here she is still fighting to stay alive"

"We need to move sir, now"

"Right, just tell us what to do soldier and we'll obey"

They quickly get her to the ship where emergency surgery was given, but she would ultimately die from her wounds since treatment had simply been delayed for too long. They would eventually find out from the Japanese that had surrendered that Sara had been tortured relentlessly after she had been captured, though no one knew who she really was and she had never given up anyone despite what they put her through. Her last commander would find out that her orders had been to take out a major base of operations of the Japanese that also acted as a weapons silo, she had to do this mission as a solo SEAL so that no one else would be put at risk. When the government failed to receive a mission report they realized she was either dead or captured and that the silo would have to be taken by other means then covertly, but also at a later moment when more soldiers could be used. When the silo was attacked and the Japanese starting to lose they had moved Sara to the location she had eventually been found at and tried one last time to get any vital information from her that they could but when she still wouldn't give up the government that abandoned her they decided to kill her by running a Katana through her heart, they never expected her body to fight the dying process for two weeks so that she could make one final gesture of defiance by dying surrounded by allies instead of alone or surrounded by enemies. Sara was buried with honors and her family was there to see her finally able to rest in peace after having fought for so long, whether as a prisoner of war or as a soldier. The military would eventually adopt the bow and arrow as standard equipment for special operation forces and optional for all regular forces except the Coast Guard, once that was standard procedure the bow and arrow became synonymous with not Sara Kerenai but the American military and even though no one was ever as good as the Lt. herself they were still a force to be reckoned with and made many military's fearful whenever they saw such a weapon. The enemies of the EDC and Cybertronians always regretted trying to take America because of those weapons due to the fact that the bow and arrow didn't need fancy technology to be made or used, thus ensuring that there was still a means of fighting back if their other weapons failed them

_Epilogue_

"Whatever are we here for John?"

"A weapon, a very special weapon that hasn't been seen in ages"

"But John, the military needs you out there not with me your sister, what if you're declared a deserter?"

John smiles at his sister kindly

"Don't worry, I was sent on this mission, due to the fact that all of my weapons are gone I was ordered to go with you to find both of us weapons we could use. The weapon of my choice is very old but should still be in working order"

"What about me then?"

"Don't worry I have the perfect weapon in mind for you sis, one that will be easy for you to use"

They eventually make their way to a special vault and when John opened the vault they saw a multitude of weapons. John instantly went for the bow and arrows while his sister upon seeing the weapon selection actually seemed drawn to both a necklace and also a gun right underneath it. She grabbed the necklace first and for a moment there was a bright light surrounding his sister that dimmed after a minute. She then grabbed the rifle and prepped as if she had handled the weapon her entire life

"Lily what just happened?"

"Later John right now we have some Quintessons to defeat"

They go out into battle and one of the Quintessons calls out in a strange language, and while the soldiers couldn't understand what was being said their Cybertronian allies looked at the weapon John was holding and declared in awe something quite unexpected

"Sara's bow and arrow set, they are back on the field of battle after hundreds of years"

Lily was shocked for a moment but then shrugged

"If you guys think that's a surprise just wait until you see this, oh by the way I'd stay back if I were you

She heads to the front of the battlefield and simply stands there for a minute and then without warning she calls out an attack Sara's family hadn't heard in such a long time, for they had seen her in battle a few times and thus knew her attacks

"Arranyan chains!"

Everyone stood back when Lily suddenly had chains in her hands and she was  _using_  them quite effectively too. Once the battle was over Lily explained that Sara had actually managed to imbue a necklace with her powers right before she died without anyone knowing the significance of the necklace on her when she was rescued. That necklace allowed her to pass on her powers to someone worthy of using the powers Sara would have used them as had she survived the Philippine battle for freedom. Lily would join the military once she was old enough herself and the Cybertronians actually had to beg John to keep using Sara's bow and arrow as she would have wanted that, but he decided to pass the bow and arrow set to Lily once she passed basic training stating it was only right that the person who held Sara's powers also held the weapon that made her famous and recognizable before America would standardize the bow and arrow as a weapon once again


End file.
